


Beast of a Burden

by Shoulderpads



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Chimeras, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Chimera Edward Elric, Gen, Human Experimentation, I'm Sorry, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Surprisingly Fluffy, Underage Drinking, chimera alphonse Elric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-24 08:15:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 52,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14351514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shoulderpads/pseuds/Shoulderpads
Summary: Alternate universe where Ed and Al don't get the chance to try and bring their mom back before they're taken to the labs as subjects for chimera experimentation.





	1. Prologue

“So, what do two kids like you need saltpeter for?” The shopkeeper asked peering down over the counter at the two boys staring back up at him. 

“What’s it matter to you?” asked the one holding out money, “I thought your job was to sell stuff, not ask questions.”

The shopkeeper reeled back with raised eyebrows, “Fair enough,” he slid the container over to the edge of the counter where the boy took it and placed money on the empty spot. 

The two boys sauntered back out and left the shop quiet. The cashier resumed leaning on his elbows and reading the newspaper. He didn’t get too far into the daily headlines-more depressing junk about Ishval-when the front door’s bell rang again. Looking up, the keep saw two men in military uniforms enter the shop. He swallowed, unsure why the military would have business with his little store. Hopefully they were just looking to buy some supplies, “Afternoon, sirs!” He greeted cheerfully, “What can I do you for?”

“Those two boys that just came through here, do you know them?” one of the men asked.

The shopkeeper’s customer service smile faltered, “Not really…why? Did they do something wrong?”

The military man shook his head, “No, they’re not in any trouble, but we’re…investigating something involving a family member of theirs. Do you know if they have any relatives or anyone close to them around here?”

The cashier shook his head, “Not really. I know their mom raised them alone, but she died not to long ago. They’re being taken care of by the Rockbells, but I only know that because heh, well,” he scooted from behind the counter and rolled up his pant leg to reveal gleaming metal, “Other than that, I don’t believe they have any living relatives, and I don’t think the Rockbells have taken legal guardianship of them.”

The two men nodded at each other, “Thank you for your time,” the only man to speak said. The pair turned and left.

The worker picked up his paper again as the bell signaled the store empty again, “Could’ve at least bought something…” 

“Are you sure about this?” asked the man who hadn’t spoken in the store asked once outside, “They’re just kids.”

“Kids no one will miss except and old lady and little girl and kids who will help further science. Think of all the people who could be helped by this. Think of all the chronically ill who could be saved by stronger genes, or the limbs people could grow back,” the man said, “Plus, these are our orders.”

The other shivered, “I still don’t like it. It’s playing God.”

The first laughed, “Well I guess that’s why you’re not an alchemist.”

 

The Elric boys sat by candlelight, reading. They picked at the leftovers of the pie served at Granny’s tonight. She’d scold them for that, seeing as they’d already had a slice at dinner, but what Granny didn’t know wouldn’t kill her. She’d probably also scold them for staying up so late and reading in such low light. Ed could almost hear her cry of, “You’ll ruin your eyesight that way!” But Ed doubted studying alchemy could ever ruin someone’s eyesight, even by candlelight. 

A knock on the front door caused both boys to snap their heads up and towards the sound.

“Who would be at the door at this hour?” Al asked with raised eyebrows.

Ed shrugged and stood up, “Probably Granny to tell us we forgot something at her place or something,” the older boy supplied while tugging wrinkles out of his shirt, “C’mon,” Ed grabbed the candle and headed out of their shared room.

Al followed behind, but wrung his hands nervously, “I don’t know, Brother, wouldn’t she wait until morning? She thinks we’d be in bed by now…”

“Who else would it be Al?” Ed asked over his shoulder.

“I don’t know-“

Ed laughed, “She’d probably testing us to see if we really are in bed like she thinks!”

“I guess we’re gonna disappoint her…” Al said as his brother grabbed the door handle and opened it a crack.

“Eh?” Ed asked upon seeing the blue uniforms.

“Excuse me boys,” one of the military men asked while the other one’s eyes shifted back and forth, “Is your father home?”

Ed almost shut the door in their face then, “He hasn’t been home in five years,” he spat, “Don’t you know what time it is? Can whatever it is wait? It’s way past our bedtime.”

“We just have a few questions. Can we come in?”

“Granny told us not to talk to strangers.” Ed glared.

“We’re the military though, you can trust us.”

“Brother…” Al whispered uncertain.

“…How about you come back tomorrow, and you can talk to us at Granny’s house?” 

The man shouldered open the door causing Ed to stumble back, “C’mon kid, we just wanna talk a little,” he reached down to grab Ed’s arm which Ed wrenched his away with a yelp. 

The other reached out for Al which spring Ed into action, kicking at the outstretched hand.

“I thought you just wanted to talk!” Ed yelled batting at the hands reaching for them.

One of the men slapped at Ed’s fists sending the candle out of his grip and flying onto the dining room table catching the cloth on fire. Both boys gasped at the sudden flames, giving the men the opportunity to seize the two boys who struggled and fought. 

“Son of a bitch, would you two just stay still!”

“Just conk ‘em out already!”

A rag muffled Ed’s cries and smothered his nose. The corners of his vision started to fade, and his head swam, yet he still struggled weakly until the blackness took him completely. 

With the boys slumped and limp in their arms, the two men nodded at each other and took them to the car parked outside.

“It still feels wrong,” The one man said while glancing at the boys knocked out in the backseat.


	2. The Lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed and Al wake in the laboratory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for: blood, panic/anxiety, vomiting, animal and child abuse

Ed woke up to faces above him. Their mouths and noses covered by masks and their eyes peered down cold and calculating. Wherever Ed was, it was cold and raised goosebumps along his arm. His back complained over stiffness from the hard metal his body was pressed against that undoubtably sucked at his remaining body heat. Pen scribbles met his ears as well as soft, emotionless murmuring he couldn't make out. 

But worst of all was the smell. 

The damp air carried with it the scent of blood and rot. A tidal wave of unease washed over Ed, this new location soaked with phantom vibes of previous suffering. He struggled against leather straps. When they didn't give to his efforts, Ed opened his mouth.

"Where am I?!" He shouted to indifferent adults. 

"Where's my brother?!? Where's Alphonse?!?!" He tried again with more desperation. 

A light shined in his eyes, two fingers pressed into his neck. He squirmed, he bit into a tongue depressor. Someone swabbed alcohol over his wrists after blood started running down his arms. It burned. 

"Br...Brother?" A soft voice croaked. 

Ed's head snapped to the side where he caught a glimpse of his little brother between the invasive bodies surrounding him. Al was there also restrained with his own set of doctors looking down on him like a specimen. His cloudy eyes slowly cleared and became more alert. 

And with that, Al's chest began to heave. 

"Brother, what's happening?! Where are we?" Al tried to press himself further into the slab as if he could sink out of the straps. 

A door squealed open and shut with a heavy clank, "Ah, good. You two are awake."

Ed fought harder, anger bubbling at the causal tone of voice, "Who the hell are you? Where are we? What's going on?" He demanded with as much vigor a ten year old could muster. 

"One question at a time, kiddo," the newcomer chided, "You're in one of the major labs in Central, and I am the head scientist here. You're not going to like what I say next, but bare with me. What we're conducting right now is research and experimentation in the pursuit of medical advancement by studying chimeras which are-" the head scientist took in the two boys' stricken and disbelieving expressions, "I see. You boys already know what chimeras are. How smart. Listen, you kids'll be fine. We've transmuted several walking, talking chimeras before. We just want to see how it goes on younger subjects."

"No way..." Ed breathed, "That's impossible. No...no one has..."

"Don't believe everything you see on public records. There's a lot the government doesn't want you to know," the scientist winked, "Anyway, you kids are going to contribute a lot to science. You should be proud!" 

Both boys stayed silent. Staring. 

"Let's start with you Mr. Disbelief! You seem very fiery and lionhearted which is convenient! Because I've got a lion picked out just for you!"

Hands gripped at Ed as he thrashed. Profanities he'd never say in front of Al in another situation poured from his mouth and only stopped when he dug his teeth into one of the scientist's hand until blood burst in his mouth. The scientist ripped her hand free, only dragging the boy's teeth across as she went. Ed turned his head and spit the blood into the face of the nearest person. 

Two claps rung out above the struggle and like a switch had flipped, the hands left and Ed sagged like a rag doll. 

"He's too wild right now. Ironically. Try the other one first and see if that calms him down."

"WHAT?" Ed shrieked as the hands started up again, only on Al this time. 

"Brother!" Al called out in fear. 

"Al! Alphonse!" Ed struggled against the restraints, opening wounds previously crusted over with dried blood. He turned his head to the ring leader, "Stop! You can't do this! Please!" He screamed himself hoarse as they started wheeling his little brother away. 

"Let him watch."

Ed's slab started moving the direction of Al's and he didn't fight it. 

Both boys were wheeled into a new room. Very little decorated the room aside from the chalk symbols marking the ground, the alchemist waiting there, and a bear with light blonde fur cowering in a cage much too small. Those in charge of Al's slab started wheeling the panicking boy towards the center of the room where the bear sulked. 

Ed renewed his straining and protests, " You can't do this! Let him go! He's my brother! Take me instead! You can do whatever you want to me - anything! Just let him go! He's my little brother, he's all I have left!" Rivers flanked Ed's cheeks as he shook with ragged breaths. 

The head scientist sighed, "What part of first did you not understand? This isn't a trade. You're both subjects here, so give it a rest, will you?"

Ed lowered his head and clenched his fists. 

"Brother!" Al called out. 

Ed snapped his gaze to the center of the room. 

Al looked eerily calm, an acceptance seemed to settle in his eyes. He still trembled while his own tears trailed down his face, but he locked eyes with his brother unwaveringly, "I'll be ok! We're going to be ok!"

Ed's lip trembled, "I'm supposed to comfort you!"

Al almost grinned, "Then do it! Tell me we'll be ok!"

Ed's face softened, "We'll be ok. We'll live through this." 

Hands slapped on the ground, the array lighting up bright blue as the process began. 

Al turned to the bear, "I'm sorry..."

Ed closed his eyes at the sound of Al and the bear's cries. 

Soon Al was an unconscious heap curled in on himself, the bear nowhere to be seen. Ed couldn't get a good look at his brother in that position, but he was bulkier now, light fur running down his arms and thick hybrid nail-claws extending past his fingers. Ed bit his lip so hard it bled. 

"Incomplete fusion."

"Kermode bear project will need to be adjusted."

"Take him to the hold."

Some of the scientists began wheeling Al towards another room and Ed broke from his stupor, "Hey! Where are you taking him! Give him back!"

"He's being taken to the holding with the other chimeras to rest. In a day or two when we complete your procedure, you'll go there too," a scientist nearby explained. 

"A day or two?!" Anything could happen to Al in that time. He'd wake up scared, alone. Different. And who knew what the other chimeras were like. What if they acted like animals? Could Al defend himself? "No! Do it now! Change me now!"

"I was hoping to break you, not get you enthusiastic," the head scientist said, "but very well."

Ed's slab moved to the center of the room as someone dragged out a cage where a juvenile lion paced. Short fur framed its face and hung down slightly while a little tuft sprouted at the top of its head, the mane barely started. Ed swallowed. 

The alchemist slapped the ground and the light enveloped Ed. A sickening pull tugged inside him that soon turned to pain. Distantly he could hear the lion whimpering but he could only focus on the pain, pain, pain, _pain_. If someone had asked Ed to describe what he felt now, he wouldn't be able to. How could someone describe something a horrible and unimaginable as this? Ed hadn't thought much of chimeras when his studies brought them up, but now he felt sorrow for all the animals that had gone through this. Sure they were just animals, but what if it had been Den? Or one of the stray cats that sometimes curled up with Al on the porch? Never had Ed considered humans would ever be dragged into this. 

Just as soon as the pain had started, it stopped. Ed flopped down sucking in large gulps of air. His body shook so badly he worried he might shake apart. His hazy vision took note of the scientists scribbling away and at the empty cage next to him. 

"Success."

He felt different. Like his mind wasn't just his own. He couldn't call them thoughts, but feelings maybe intruded his brain. Simple ideas like running or ripping out the throats of those confining him pressed on sluggish thoughts. He felt like there was something just beneath his skin waiting to spring free from the cage of a human body. 

"A perfect fusion."

Ed leaned over the edge of the slab and heaved out bile and Granny's pie. 

"Take him away."

As soon as he'd finished gagging. A hand pushed him back down. He faintly caught the sensation of motion but it only made his head swim more. Doors opened and Ed heard cries of anger and shock. Someone released the restraints and set him on the ground.

"Al...? Al?" Ed called trying and failing to push himself up.

"I can't believe you fuckers are using kids! What the hell is wrong with you monsters?!" A man's voice called, "I oughta-"

Electricity cackled followed by a high pitched yelp. 

A new set of hand landed on Ed and he seized with a cry. 

The hands let go as if Ed were made of fire, "Sorry! Sorry! Your brother is over here. It's alright. Can I take you to him?"

Ed nodded and let himself he carried to the crumpled form of his little brother. Now Ed could see his face. His ears were caught between where they should be and the top of his head now round and fuzzy. Fur lined the edge of his cheeks and his nose had become squarer and flatter. His eyes, darker and smaller now than before met Ed's. 

"I'm sorry Al."

"Brother, you look the same," Al's smile wobbled, "That's good."

Ed sobbed at the unfairness of it all. Why should he look the same while his little brother looked like a monster? Al was the furthest thing from a monster and if they ever got out of here, he'd never get to show his face in public again. _It should have been me, it should have been me_ , Ed repeated over and over again in his mind and he held Al close and pressed his nose into the now thicker hair. 

"I'm scared, Brother," Al whispered. 

"Me too," Ed squeezed his arms tighter. 

"I know. I can smell your fear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there's that. 
> 
> Next time: Meeting some new friends in hell
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated!


	3. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lab is filled with despair, but it's not all bad. At least it isn't lonely.

The next time Ed woke, it was to gentle fingers brushing through his hair. He hurt, but the soft gesture almost lured him back to sleep. It didn't smell like home or feel like his bed though, and the confusion of who could be playing with his hair had him crack open his eyes. Blearily he saw a woman with dark hair spilling over shoulder. She stroked his head absentmindedly, not even looking at the boy whose head rested in her lap. 

"...Mom?" Ed asked, voice groggy. 

The woman snapped to attention, her face peering down at the boy, "Oh, no honey, I'm sorry," horizontal stripes instead of round pupils met his and Ed's breath caught. 

He scramble back from the woman, chest heaving. His eyes darted around the unfamiliar room where other strangers watched from the sidelines, concern etched on their faces, but all Ed saw were threats. Slowly the events of the previous night came back to him, and he shuddered. The boy's gaze landed back on the woman frowning at him with an underbite, "Where's my brother?"

The woman pointed to one of the plain, gray walls of the room Al sat slouched against with a cross legged man beside him. Al fiddled with his hands in his lap, eyes half closed, and his mouth moving slowly. The man just nodded along. Walking closer on shaking legs, Ed could hear is brother's slurred speech.

"and there was this spooky guy with a mask who wanted to fight us all the time, but it was really just one of Teacher's workers at the meat shop. He was looking out for us."

"Oh wow, I don't think I could handle being alone on an island with all that for a week. You kids sound pretty bad ass, your teacher too."

"Yeah," Al smiled, "She's the best...scary, but also nice. She gives good hugs."

"She ever teach you kids how to use swords," the man asked. 

Al shook his head slightly, "No, mostly hand to hand. I'm pretty good at it."

The man chuckled, "I bet. I've always wanted to learn how to use a sword. I think it'd be pretty neat. Saw a couple of traders from Xing when I was out in Ishval. They seemed pretty cool and all."

"You were in Ishval?" Ed piped up. The very mention of the word brought back the image of Winry sobbing at the dining room table. 

"Hey, hey, kid's awake!" The man threw his arms up, "Ed, right? Can you vouch for your little brother here's fighting skills? He's says he's pretty good."

Ed grinned, "Yeah. I haven't beaten him yet," Ed sat down in front of his brother and ruffled his hair, "How're you feeling?"

Al frowned, "Not that great actually. It hurts, and I'm a little dazed but talking is a good distraction."

Ed nodded. 

"What about you brother?"

The older boy waved the question away, "Don't worry about me, you're the one I'm concerned about."

"Edddd," Al whined. 

"Fine," Ed sighed, "I feel like that time Winry accidentally knocked her toolbox off the balcony and onto me but like times ten."

Al laughed at that. 

"Yeah, yeah, it was sooooo funny," he rolled his eyes and turned to the stranger, "Were you really in Ishval?" 

The man gestured around the room, "We all were, well most of us are soldiers anyway, and when you're low enough ranked, and you get injured, well then you're more valuable as a lab rat than you are wasting medkits. So you end up here and maybe you become a literal lab rat!" He threw back his head and barked out a laugh. At the look he received, he shrugged, "Sorry, probably too soon for you to enjoy dark humor," he rubbed the back of his neck before sticking out his hand, "The name's Dolcetto. They mixed me with a dog. Welcome to hell on Earth."

"Lion," Ed took the much larger hand and shook it hesitantly, "How...how long have you been here?" 

"Hard to say really," Dolcetto rubbed his chin, "A year maybe?"

The two brothers glanced at each other nervously, the reality that they might stay here the rest of their lives starting to sink in. 

Dolcetto shook his head, "Its not that bad...ok it's pretty bad, but what I'm trying to say is you aren't alone. You're surrounded by people in that same boat as you. We watch out for each other, take care of each other, y'know? As long as you don't act out so bad you get put in solitary that is. We're a pack, and you're part of that now." 

A door on the opposite side of the room that Ed and Al entered from creaked open. Two men in scrubs pushed a short, squat man in. The bald man stumbled forward as the door slammed behind him. His fingers intertwined, and a tail wrapped around his shaking legs. His eyes swept the room until they fell on Dolcetto who lifted an arm and waved him over. 

"Bido! We got some fresh faces over here!" Dolcetto announced as the man sat down with the little group, "Bido, Ed and Al, Ed and Al, Bido," he introduced.

"...You're like me," Al commented, gazing at the flicking tail.

"Happens sometimes," Dolcetto frowned, "Usually when they fuse an animal for the first time it doesn't come out as a perfect product. I've seen way worse mixes though," he shivered momentarily, "So don't feel too bad."

"Where are those worse mixes?" Al asked. 

Dolcetto's frown deepened before he turned away towards Bido, "How're you doing buddy? They didn't rough you up too bad did they? You've been gone awhile."

"Tail regeneration tests," Bido whispered. 

Dolcetto nodded and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. 

\--

After that, Ed and Al began to adjust. 

The food tasted terrible, but the pair had lived on next to nothing on the island, and they could live on this. At night they curled up together on the floor like everyone else. 

Every now and then the scientist's came and took someone for tests. Ed struggled anytime he or Al were called on. The doctor's had no trouble subduing the boy's flailing limbs. He never left a scratch, but sometimes they shocked him with a cattle prod anyway. When Al had sessions, he went quietly, and when they took his brother, he begged to deaf ears. Once reunited, the two were inseparable. Sometimes Al came back crying, but Ed only ever had dead eyes and staggering steps. 

They met Dolcetto and Bido's others friends too. 

Roa seldom spoke, but late at night he sometimes talked about the wife he hadn't seen since leaving for duty. He was tall and broad with a permanent frown carved into his face and his arms almost always crossed over his chest, yet he had a gentleness to him. After a session with the doctors, his warm hands on a shoulder or back could soothe anyone. 

Martel had a fire in her eyes and always came back from the testing room with a glare like daggers. She didn't like to be touched, but she enjoyed the presence of her friends. She told jokes in a deadpan voice so smooth that at times people didn't realize she'd told a joke at all. She liked to braid Roa's hair, and at night she wedged herself in tight corners to sleep. 

Bido often wrung his hands nervously and hunched in on himself, but he also had a wide smile and thrived on making others laugh. He never judged anyone and would listen to anything anyone had to say. On a good day he could ramble on about nothing, just light banter that didn't mean anything. 

Dolcetto had an optimistic view on their situation that many desperately needed and would lean on. His friends brought him great joy and it pained him greatly when they were hurt. He looked out for the brothers as best he could. When one was too sick to keep down their rations, he shared what he had. When other subjects were taken for testing too close to their last time, or hadn't healed, he argued and threw out his fists getting the prod or time in solitary. More than once it had been on the behalf of the Elrics. He'd yell that they were just kids as he was dragged away to the cells. 

Life went on in a cycle. Eat, sleep, test. Tests could be as mild as a standard physical exam and blood tests, to endurance tests that left Ed shaking on the ground as the doctors shouted at him to get up, or injections that made Al's body burn and sent him back to the group room with fever bright eyes and the ability to hardly keep down water. Everyone lived for the time between tests, the time to soak in each other's company and leave the pain at the door. It was one of these times when Martel had an idea. 

"Hey you kids said your alchemists right?" She asked one afternoon. 

The boys nodded in affirmative. 

"Can you alchemize us up a checkers board or something then? "

"That's a great idea!" Dolcetto proclaimed. 

Roa and Bido nodded in approval. 

Ed and Al bent their heads toward each other and spoke quickly and quietly before nodding and turning to the group, "We need something to draw the transmutation circle with," Al explained. 

Roa nodded and clenched his jaw and fists. Horns came from his forehead and when he loosened his hands, he revealed claws. He pointed his index finger forward to the boys, "How's this?"

The brothers stared for a moment before looking to each other and shrugging. Al grabbed the finger and guided it around etching into the concrete floor. Once finished, the pair pressed their palms on the symbol and a light flashed before morphing into a carving of a checkers board in the ground. Besides it part of the ground had hollowed out to form playing pieces, identified as circle pieces or square instead of red and black. They could easily be swept back into the hole they came from. 

Bido clapped, while Roa and Martel smiled satisfactorily, and Dolcetto whooped. The group passed the afternoon playing the game without noticing Ed slowly become more closed off and silent. 

After lights out, the group settled down to sleep, but Ed couldn't seem make it come. He kept his eyes closed, but his mind raced a million miles per second. Eventually he sighed and sat up. He stared into the dim room and at the shadows who rose and fell in a gentle rhythm. No nightmares from anyone tonight it seemed. A hand on his shoulder made him jump and snap his head to whoever had snuck up on him. 

"Sorry," Martel whispered, pulling her hand back. 

"What is it?" Ed asked, eyes darting to make sure they didn't wake his brother. 

Martel sat back on her heels, "Earlier today, you were fine. You joked with us and laughed, but after you made that checker board, you seemed to check out, and now you can't sleep. I just wanted to make sure you're ok, and apologize if I brought up any bad memories or anything by asking."

Ed shook his head, "You're fine, I just...it made me think about when we were first taken and...experimented on. It just occurred to me today that I could've done alchemy to try and get us out."

Martel scrunched her eyebrows, "How could you have? You were restrained were you not?"

Ed shrugged and threw his hands up, "I don't know!" He whispered, "My wrists were bleeding so, I could have used that, just drawn something tiny, something that could get us out of the shackles or something, anything. I should've done something instead of gawk at them putting a bear in my brother. I'm the big brother, I'm supposed to protect him, and I didn't." Ed hugged his knees to his chest. 

"Ed...I know it might feel like it's your fault, but it's not. Not at all," Martel spoke softly, "I know you think you could have stopped them, but you couldn't have. If you got free, they would have caught you again before you could do anything, or shot you. You are not responsible for making sure you and your brother don't get experimented on. You're just kids, you can't be expected to do something like that. Look at Roa," she nodded to his hulking form, "he couldn't even fight them off. Please don't blame yourself."

Ed shrugged and didn't answer. 

Martel sighed and sat silently for a moment before turning to the boy and opening her arms. Ed hesitated, but she nodded in permission. Slowly Ed let her slide her arm over his shoulder. After a few minutes of sitting there stiff, Ed relaxed and pressed his face in her neck. She sat there holding the trembling boy until he eventually feel to sleep. 

The next morning the scientists stepped inside and read Al's name off a clip board. 

Al stood up to go quietly, but Ed stood up too. 

"Brother, please, I'll be fine," Al held out a placating hand. 

Ed moved quickly, snatching a checker piece and scrawled on the ground. 

"Ed, don't!" Al yelled as his brother activated the array and sent rock spikes toward the doctors who dove out of the way along with the surprised shouts from the chimeras near the attack. Seeing that his attack didn't land, Ed bent to aim again, but Al caught his arm and pulled him up, "Brother, stop it!" He snapped. 

"No, Al, I'm not going to just let them take you again, not when we can do this!" Ed argued back. 

"You're just going to make things worse and get yourself hurt!" Al continuously tugged on his brother's arm until pain made him let go and fall on his behind. 

The doctors had approached the pair unnoticed and jabbed Ed with the prod, sending electricity through the both of them. One grabbed Al and carried him to the test room while the other shocked Ed until the fight left him and he twitched on the floor. The doctor picked him up by the collar of his shirt and dragged him roughly across the ground to the door leading to the solitary cells. 

"...shit, kid," Dolcetto muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here it is at long last! I'm finally done with classes and exams. Thanks fore sticking with me through this wait! I don't think this is my best chapter, but I'm excited for the next one. Hopefully I'm not moving this story along too fast!
> 
> Any feedback is appreciated as always!


	4. Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My friend only has 10 minutes left of wifi so even though this chapter is short I'm posting it now

At first, Ed had been angry. 

He'd hit the ground hard when doctor threw him in the tiny cell, and when he'd recovered from the electricity that set his insides on fire and turned his muscles against him, he'd throw his shoulder against the door, banged on it with his fist, and spat curses that would make even Granny pause. His face ached from the glare that never left, and his muscles shook with the tension he held there. 

Who knew what they were doing to Alphonse right now? Would he be put back in time to see the damage? Probably not. He had no idea how long they'd keep him here. He hoped not long. They never seemed to keep Dolcetto more than a few days, but Dolcetto knew how to behave when not trying to protect his friends, and Ed knew no such rationale. 

When the door opened for Ed's meals, he lunged at his caretaker. This often ended with shocks or swift kicks to his abdomen, and the food being taken away. The only days Ed didn't make for an attack were the ones where the lack of food left him too weak or desperate for nourishment. 

After a week of reckless behavior, two guards came in and wrestled him into handcuffs they chained to the wall. They didn't have to try very hard as Ed could only put up a weak fight from the dizziness and nausea from hunger. Before they left, they placed a tray down in front of Ed who was thankful for his bound hands staying towards the ground and not above his head. 

Ed lost track of time, but his anger had slipped away. He curled in the corner and hoped his brother's safety. At night he hugged himself tight as images of pacing lions, Al seizing in pain, Winry sobbing, closing doors, and broken tomatoes played in his mind. 

Time lost meaning in a haze of nothingness until a sharp sound hit his ears. It didn't sound like his door opening. No, it was a distinct pattern of deep popping sounds. Ed stared at the steel door of his cell and furrowed his eyebrows. Gunshots? He'd only heard guns at the local fair at the shooting gallery or when a race started, but he couldn't think of what else it could be. 

Ed hunched his shoulders as he heard a scream. 

Something was definitely happening out there. Maybe one of the stronger chimeras had snapped and gone animal mode. He'd seen it happen once before. The chimera had no semblance of humanity in their eyes. No one was their friend at that point. Another chimera had suffered injury but a guard took a mortal wound before shooting and ending the conflict. If one had come this far, they wouldn't care about Ed's life, and he wouldn't just let himself die, plus this could might give him the escape attempt he needed. 

The sounds of terror came closer and the tang of blood hit Ed's nose. He scrunched up his face and willed fangs to come from his gums like Dolcetto had taught him. He'd only done it once or twice before and it always left him shaken. He tried harder until he felt the slide of elongating teeth against the others. He hunched to bring his teeth to his left palm and sliced open his hand. Dabbing his right fingers in the pooling blood, Ed painted a circle on the ground with haste hoping his fast work didn't make the symbols too sloppy or his lines too wobbly. 

His head snapped up the squeal his door gave, like nails on a chalkboard. Ed cringed at the awful sound, sure his fellow subject had clawed at the door. Then came a metallic thump on the ground before the door slammed open. 

"Hey th-"

Ed activated the array and sent the same spikes that sent him here towards the figure in the entryway. Ed could hardly hear the squelch of the concrete breaking skin and the shocked gasp over the blood roaring in his ears from the fear and adrenaline. 

"Aw dammit! I really liked this shirt..."

Ed sucked in a breath and blinked up at the impaled man who didn't seem particularly bothered by his predicament. His hands raised and made to hit the array again but the man held out a hand. 

"Whoa, whoa, hey! No need for that! Not an enemy!"

Ed slowly moved his hands away. 

"Ok, ok...you done?" The man's mouth quirked up in a halfway friendly smile, the sharp teeth ruined the effect though. 

Ed nodded hesitantly. 

"Great!" The man dug shinning black claws into the spike stabbing into him and broke himself off of it. He staggered a bit before fitting his fingers around the chunk still within his middle and pulling it out with a hiss of pain. A splash of blood fell to the ground as he tossed the piece away and Ed shrunk back in horror at the gore he caused. 

"I...I'm sorry, I-" Ed stammered unable to fully process that he'd landed a killing blow on this man. 

"Don't sweat it," the stranger answered leaning against the door. 

"But-"

The man held up a finger to quiet the boy as cackling red lightning engulfed his middle, the broken flesh knitting itself back together. 

Ed stared, "What...what are you?" he whispered, mouth dry. 

The man sauntered closer and crouched down grabbing a hold of Ed's restraints, "I'm a homunculus," his claws broke chain between Ed's wrists and the wall. 

"An artificial human," they both said at the same time, the man matter factly and Ed breathlessly. 

The man blinked back in surprise, "You know your stuff."

"No way..." Ed shook his head.

The man stood up, pulling Ed with him before slotting his right hand into Ed's for a shake and holding up the back of his left where a red ouroboros stared back at Ed, "The name's Greed, and we're getting out of here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There he is!!! The guy you've all been waiting for!
> 
> Feedback is very appreciated and motivates me :)


	5. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group escapes with the strange man, Greed

Ed followed the homunculus warily. His father's books had classified homunculi as merely a theory, but who knew how old those books were? Perhaps someone had proven the theory true in the time between? 

As the pair entered the hallway, Ed caught a glimpse of what looked like a collapsed person, but Greed leaned into his view, walking half sideways, half backwards. 

"So kid, you got a name?" 

Ed blinked, "Uh...Ed."

"Nice to meet you, Uh Ed, you been here long?" Greed raised a short brow. 

Ed shrugged, "I don't really know? A few months maybe? My friend Bido says he's been here for years though."

Greed whistled low, "Yikes. Well better late than never."

By then the pair had reached the main holding area. Greed pushed the door open with the palm of his hand and stepped through with fists on his hips, "I'm back! Solitary's clear, now we just have to burn you guys's records and leave!"

Cheers came in response. 

"Brother!" Al called out. 

Ed brightened immediately and ran over to Al, meeting him halfway for a hug. After a moment, Ed pulled back and examined his brother for anything amiss, "Are you ok?"

Al shook his head, "No, nothing worse than usual, but what about you? You were gone for two weeks!" His eyes searched Ed with a deep sadness and anxiety. 

Ed gaped, "Two weeks?" It had felt so much longer, "No, I'm fine. A little bruised, but fine."

"Then it's ok for me to do this!" Dolcetto scooped up Ed and hugged him. Martel squeezed his shoulder, Bido gave him a wide smile, and Roa ruffled his hair. 

"We were very worried about you," Bido said. 

Ed's mouth moved, but no words came out as Dolcetto put him down. He didn't know what to say to such a display of affection from his fellow chimeras. Luckily though, he didn't have to flounder for long. 

"This is sweet and all, but stealth isn't exactly my specialty, so backup is probably on the way, and I don't want to be here when it does, so let's wrap it up," Greed interjected. 

The group nodded. 

Eventually Greed led the test subjects to a room full of cabinets. He clapped his hands together and faced the group, "Ok so everyone grab a cabinet and empty it in the middle of the room," he pulled a box of matches out his his pant pocket-which surprised Ed considering how tight said pants were, "and then we'll erase any evidence any of you were ever here. So, uh, hop to it."

Greed offered to take the top drawers of Ed and Al's cabinets on the premise that he didn't want to bend down to do the bottom drawers and if the brothers took the bottom of his, he'd take their tops. 

"That's equivalent exchange, right, little alchemist?"

Ed huffed, "I guess."

Al pulled a thick file folder out of the cabinet, "Why are you doing this anyway?" 

Greed shrugged, "I just opened a bar and I could use some employees," he brought his hand to his chin, "I guess you two are too young to work in a bar, so I guess you get off free."

"Wouldn't it just be easier to put up a help wanted sign?" Al asked. 

"Yeah, isn't infiltrating a military base a little much?" Ed added. 

Greed shrugged again, "Ok so maybe I also want some minions too. Some underlings with loyalty, y'know."

Al pulled out more folders and rolled his eyes, "You sure want some strange things." 

"What can I say? I'm the personification of Greed. I want anything you can possibly think of. I want money and power and women. Se-how old are you?" 

"Ten."

"Nine."

"Uh...status and glory, I demand the finer things," he finished quickly. 

"Wow...you really are some kind of freak," Ed murmured sharing a look with Al. 

Eventually the center of the room had filled with papers, and Greed handed out matches to those who had raised their hands fastest. The fire burned brightly while the group looked on for a few moments. Eventually Greed ushered everyone along and out of the lab. 

The night air filled the lungs of the now free chimeras and the stars shined above them. Bido among a few others broke into tears for the simple joy of it. Others hugged and cheered. 

Greed led them along back roads, alleys, and tunnels. The cover of the night did wonders to hide the strange group dressed in plain uniforms that might've been white once who followed a man in tight pants with a hole in his bloody shirt. By the time the walking wore down the Elrics' energy, Roa scooped them up easily. Al thanked the large man while Ed fought and sputtered. 

"I can walk! I'm fine!" 

"Oh so is that why you're stumbling and struggling to walk in a straight line?" Martel commented offhandedly. 

Ed crossed his arms and huffed, "...thank you, Roa.."

"Of course," Roa's deep voice rumbled. 

Pretty soon the whole group looked ready to drop. They trudged on until the first hint of dawn painted the sky and Greed found an abandoned house. The stale air inside smelled of dust, and the curtains had holes from moths. 

"Ok, we're going to stay here during the day," Greed announced from atop a chair in the house's dining room, "We'll rest until noon, and then whoever is well enough and human passing will come with me into town to buy supplies while to rest of you look around the house for anything you think might be useful, or that you like and can carry."

Someone raised a hand, "So we're stealing?"

Greed looked to the side at Roa, "How long until squatter's rights kick in?"

"Longer than a day."

Greed turned back to the group, "Then yes, we're stealing, but look at this place, no one has been here in a while so," he made a vague gesture. 

"Where are we going anyway?" Another asked.

"Dublith!" Greed announced proudly. 

The crowd murmured amongst themselves unsure and nervous. Dublith wasn't an absurd place to travel to from Central, but it would take several nights travel, and the uncertainty of what awaited the group once they made it there worried many of the chimeras. 

Bido stepped up to the task of finding out, "And...and then what, Mr. Greed?"

Greed blinked and stared for a moment, "Uh...sorry, no one has ever called me 'Mr.' before," he laughed and composed himself, "I've got a bar there, I could use some workers. It's only a small part of a big warehouse so there's plenty of space...I may also have connections with people in the shadow world which means I also have enemies, so some chimeras might give me a leg up. Plus who wouldn't want chimeras under his command? I certainly do, but I am Greed, of course."

The crowd stared at him. 

"You don't have to come, but I figured you don't have anything better to do."

The group turned each other again before shrugging and turning back to Greed. 

"Great! I guess find a place to rest and-oh! First, if you can't pass for human, I need to get a headcount so we can get you clothes to help hide anything that gives you away. Tonight was risky, lets not do it again." 

Ed and his friends found a place near the stairs where they waited for Bido and Al to be done with Greed taking stock of them. The pair came back soon enough, and Al seemed happy as he slid down the wall next to his brother. 

"You're in a good mood," Dolcetto commented. 

"I'm just excited to be out of there and in a house. I'm excited for new clothes and better food...and no tests!" Al's smile reached his dark eyes. 

"Amen to that," Martel grinned. 

The group settled to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked the character interactions here and hope to have more fun with that in the future!
> 
> Oh! And if you want, my tumblr is Shoulderpads-McGee2 
> 
> As always I appreciate any and all feedback! :)


	6. Errands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Muffled "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore playing in the distance)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! But this is a longer chapter so please enjoy!

The morning passed slowly for Ed who tossed and turned restlessly. He hadn't eaten for at least a day or two (he couldn't tell really) when Greed had shown up and the hunger gnawed at him, kept him awake. When he managed to fall into a light slumber, images of doctors with needles and scalpels hovered above him and made his eyes snap open. By noon he'd taken to leaning against the staircase and staring at the wall with shaking hands and a cold sweat. 

His mind wandered back home to Risembool. How long had he and Al been gone? What did Winry and Granny think? Did they think they were dead? Runaways? Did they call the police or send out a search party? Ed frowned as he imagined fat tears running down Winry's cheeks at another day without the boys turning up. She cried over everything...but maybe this was worth crying over. 

He imagined walking up the winding path to Rockbell Automail. His eyes squinted at the vibrant blue sky and green grass his mind dreamed up. The dirt road seemed to stretch on forever, but Ed pushed on even as his legs burned and the sun dipped low in the sky. He finally reached the house by nightfall and smiled at the light on the porch. So they hadn't given up he thought as he bounded up the porch steps and reached for the door handle. 

His hand stopped. 

No...he couldn't go back home like this...he might look human but he couldn't call himself that anymore. He's eyes could cut through the darkness, his ears picked up the slightest sounds, and his nose could identify a person across the room, but worst was the voice at the back of his head telling him to run or claw at anyone too close. That instinctual voice would have cost someone their life if anyone Greed had opened his cell door. 

And how could Al ever go back looking like he did? Winry already thought of alchemy as freaky, how would she react to Al's blunt claws and warped ears? Even if Ed could blend in and never spill his secrets, he'd never go to a home Al couldn't. 

He stepped down from the porch and instead walked into the empty house next door. Darkness greeted him, but it didn't matter now. His eyes scanned the house with easy and he stumbled back at the sight. He almost slipped as his foot came down with a crunch, tomato reaching his nose as he stared at the crumpled form of his mother draped across the chalk scrawled on the floorboards. A wretched stench punched him hard and caused his eyes to focus on a pile of rotting rabbits besides her. Flies buzzed around both the rabbits and his mom whose skin seemed to whiten as it stretched over protruding bones, her hair going dull and brittle. 

Ed spun on his heel to run, but a strong pair of arms caught him. He saw rich blue on the sleeves of the arms wrapped around him and forced him to watch an alchemist slink out of the shadows and slowly lower his hands to the array under the bodies in the house's entryway. 

Then there was snapping. 

"Ed....Ed...ED!"

The boy startled as if a current had passed through his body. He blinked a few times to clear away the grotesque imagery and bring his brother's concerned face into focus. 

"Wh...what?" Ed asked between shaking and shallow breaths. 

"It's noon." Al answered standing up to give his brother space. 

Ed scrubbed a hand over his face and opened his eyes again, this time noticing Dolcetto, Martel, Bido, and Roa watching him just as worried as Al. Out of the corner of his eye he could even see Greed with a troubled frown, and he could feel the gazes of the others in the same room. 

"Oh...noon already?" Ed asked shakily. He took the hand Al offered and hauled himself up on trembling legs. 

"Yeah...are you ok, brother?" Al spoke softly. 

"Yup! Never been better," Ed stumbled, his back hitting the staircase. 

"When was the last time you ate?" A voice piped up. 

Ed looked to the owner. The bald chimera had a large scar over his forehead and scalp. 

Ed shrugged. 

"You're all pale, sweaty, shaky, and look like you haven't slept a wink," the chimera said, Ed vaguely remember people calling him Doc and his face hovering over Ed when tests had left him delirious, "I bet it's because you they didn't feed you enough in solitary," Doc concluded. 

"Well it's a good thing we're going shopping then! We can get you a meal real quick!" Greed said. 

Ed shook his head, "But I wanted to stay here and help with the house."

Dolcetto shook his head, "No way, you need food asap, kiddo. You look like a breeze could knock you over right about now." 

"But-" 

"Don't worry, your brother will be fine, plus he's got Bido," Martel interjected. 

"I wasn't-"

Roa crossed his arms. 

"I thought Greed only said those well enough would go, and I can hardly stand."

Dolcetto shrugged, "Then I guess I'll have to carry you," he grabbed Ed and slung the protesting boy onto his back. 

"This is so demeaning..." Ed whined. 

"You've been humiliated worse," Dolcetto answered, walking out the door with Greed and the other human passing chimeras. 

 

Once the group made it to town, the chimeras hid in an ally while Greed searched ahead for a thrift shop. The shirt Ed had ruined the previous day had been tossed and replaced by the same material that had made up his claws. Carbon, Ed figured. Though the didn't explain the red lines going over his back and torso. While waiting, they took a pair of scissors someone found in the house to their clothes to make them less uniform. Some cut off their sleeves, others cut their pants into various lengths of shorts, some made v-necks, a few even donned crop tops. Ed even managed to draw an array in the ally's wall with a rock and make long sleeves and turtle necks with extra scraps of material. The white couldn't be helped, but at least they didn't look so much like prisoners anymore 

The homunculus returned quickly with a scrap of paper and a mischievous grin on his lips, "Ok I got directions to the local thrift shop and a phone number."

"Of the store?" Martel asked. 

Greed pressed the paper to his chest and leaned forward, "No, of a girl," he laughed, turning on his heel and motioning for the group to follow. 

After a couple wrong turns and speed walking past prying eyes, they eventually made it to the store. A bell rang to signal their arrival and a cheerful voice fro behind the checkout counter welcomed them as they went their separate ways. 

"So, what kind of clothes you like, kid?" Dolcetto asked as he hiked Ed up higher on his back and made his way towards the kid's section. 

"I'd take anything right now," Ed murmured. 

"You got a favorite color at least?" 

"Red."

"I can work with that."

The store organized itself by color which made it easy to grab a handful of red tops of varying sizes he estimated to be in the ballpark for Ed. He lifted everything to the boy's eye level for approval before grabbing the next thing to try, but Ed approved of most of it. Next, Dolcetto grabbed a bunch of simple dark pants in the hopes that at least one would fit. 

While Ed occupied the dressing room, Dolcetto looked at the nearby coat rack. He pulled out something with a tag that labeled it as a medieval monk robe costume, but it was unassuming, had a hood, and the material seemed pretty good for a dress up party product. 

Ed walked over and leaned on the wall, "What's with that?"

Dolcetto turned and held the robe out, "Think this would be good for Bido?"

Ed shrugged, "He could probably get by with that, and he doesn't seem very fashion savvy."

"Good. Did you find anything you like?"

Ed nodded and held up a plain red sweater and black slacks. 

"Great, lets go find me something now."

Dolcetto lifted Ed on his back again with the instructions to hold the clothes. In the adult section, he found a black exercise shirt and a soft pair of loose, gray yoga pants. 

"Ok, lets find something for your brother."

"Aren't you gonna try those on?" Ed mumbled tiredly. 

"I know my size, it's fine," he assured. 

They found a baggy hoodie with front pockets and a faded print of a cartoon cat on the chest which made Ed pretty sure Al would love it. They also grabbed a pair of pants in Ed's size with a drawstring waistband in case it needed to be tighter or looser and a pair of dark sunglasses. 

Finding socks held no challenge, and after trying on some shoes and guessing on a pair for Al, the pair found Greed studying the list from the previous night next to a basket full of clothes. He looked up at the approach of the chimeras. 

"Hey, you guys find everything alright?"

"Yeah and something for Alphonse and Bido as well," Dolcetto answered. 

"Ah, great!" Greed put a line through both names, "That saves me the time of searching for them too," he fished around in his pocket and handed some money to Ed who reached out with the hand not cradling clothes, "This should cover what you guys have. Bring back the change."

Dolcetto headed to the checkout and let Ed place the items on the counter. 

"So what's with the outfits?" The thrift shop owner asked. 

Dolcetto looked up, "What?"

"All the matching white."

"We're part of a dance troupe," Ed answered. 

"We're religious," Dolcetto said at the same time. 

The shopkeeper lifted a brow. 

The duo glanced at each other. 

"We're a religious dance troupe!" Ed nodded. 

"We just came from a dress rehearsal and wanted to do some shopping practice," Dolcetto added. 

"We have a show soon."

"So we've been working really hard. That's why the kid's so tired. We're going to lunch after this."

"Oh," the store owner said as he finished ringing up and bagging the items, "Well good luck with your show!"

"Thanks!" They answered, waiting for their change. 

After the man handed over the bag and money, the two chimeras quickly made for the store entrance where the others who had finished shopping waited. 

"That was close!" Ed muttered. 

"You're telling me."

Eventually Greed joined them, counting heads and collecting change, "Alright everyone's here. I got that cashier to recommend a restaurant we can get lunch at for pretty cheap and directions to it," he held up a blank receipt with words scribbled on it. 

"Do you get his number too?" Martel asked with a smirk. 

Greed winked, "Yes."

 

Luckily the walk into town and the trip to the thrift shop made the group miss the lunch rush. As a result, the restaurant had plenty of seating towards the back for the large party. While waiting for their food to come, the chimeras took turns changing their clothes in the bathroom. 

"Ok so maybe I grabbed a shirt that's a little small," Dolcetto sat down uncomfortably with the top that clung to his skin. 

Ed looked up from coloring the kid's menu that he insisted he didn't need but had been given anyway, "I knew you should've tried it on."

Martel patted his shoulder, "I think it looks good."

Ed held a crayon across the table, "Roa, play tic tac toe with me." 

 

Ed ate like a man starved, which to be fair, he pretty much was, but still the sight was a spectacle to behold. It even made Greed turn around from the table with an incredulous expression. 

"Geez kid, you eat like my brother."

Ed paused and wiped his mouth, "You have a brother?"

Greed nodded, "Yeah like four," he held his chin, "Well three for sure and a forth sibling who could go either way, and a sister."

"Big family," Roa lifted his brows before turning forward and taking a sip from the dainty cup of tea he ordered. 

Greed scrunched up his nose, "Yeah, but they're lame losers, and we don't talk, so forget about them," he turned back towards his table. 

"I couldn't imagine not being on speaking terms with my brother," Ed nibbled on a fry, "I already miss him right now."

"Sometimes family members aren't good," Roa stated simply. 

Ed huffed, "I know that! My dad's an asshole!"

Greed laughed without turning around, "I hear ya on that one, kid!"

 

After Greed surprised the waitress by paying everyone's bill, getting directions to the grocery store, and her phone number much to Martel's chagrin, the group moved out to buy nonperishables for the trip and some lunch goods for those back at the house. A couple party platters with deli meats, cheeses, fruits, and vegetables seemed like a good idea for the home team. Some drawstring bags to carry the goods also made it into the stuffed shopping cart. 

Greed paid at the grocery store as well and had everyone carry a bag or two. 

"Where did you get all that money anyway?" Dolcetto asked on the trek back to the house. They'd gone to a thrift shop and well priced restaurant sure, but the man had easily spent a few hundreds on the relative strangers that afternoon. 

"You tend to have large savings when you're about two hundred. I've lost count but that's about right. And I have my ways," he winked. 

"Two hundred?" Ed sputtered. That put a dash in his recent creation theory. Sure he didn't know how old his father's books were, but surely they weren't older than two hundred? 

"And I don't look a day over 25," Greed proclaimed. 

 

Back at the house, the home team didn't find much of anything useful. Some moth eaten clothes and bottles once full of cosmetics and cleansers only held dried crust mostly. However, they did manage a haul of weaponry from kitchen knives to silverware and table legs refitted to sharp daggers with wood handles finely crafted with smooth curves and elegant designs curtesy of Alphonse. 

It had taken time for the others to warm up to the brothers' alchemy, but after making a cat out of old candles, they were happy to let him spend the afternoon with an eyepatched chimera roughing the boy through blacksmithing until Al could form a well balanced and resistant weapon. 

Ed's hypothesis proved to be supported by Al quickly shrugging the new hoodie on over his furry arms, flipping up the hood, and pulling the strings until only his nose showed, "Thanks, brother, it's great!" He laughed muffled through the material. 

The group pushed the living room furniture aside and sat down chatting amicably as those who hadn't eaten picked at the platters. By dusk, everyone had had their fill and rested. Greed, who sat in an arm chair above the rest called for attention and announced it was time to hit the road once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: home sweet home
> 
> As always your comments give me life! And you can always scream with me on tumblr at Shoulderpads-mcgee2!


	7. Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang makes it to point B

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like hearing Greed talk as much as Greed likes to hear himself talk, you're going to have a great time!

Finding places to rest became increasingly difficult without the luck of an abandoned house, but the group managed with little incident. The time one of the chimeras woke up screaming while they slept in an alleyway did bring a few curious on lookers. Greed, who was on watch at the time, managed to scare them off by bringing his shield all the way over his head. He kept his back turned to the group, but Ed figured that it was a sight to behold based on the faces of the people who ran down the street. They didn't get much sleep that night. They quickly continued on their way before any authorities could show up looking for a monster. 

The morning they arrived in Dublith, Greed had plowed through "99 Bottles of Beer" no less than two times while some sang along monotone and exhausted against his cheer. However Martel fingered the hilt of her dagger and Ed could tell Al had his fists balled in the pockets of his jacket before Greed cut off midway through the third rendition to announce they were in "his city" and not far from their final destination. Graciously, he didn't pick the song back up after that. 

"Hey, brother," Al murmured after the tension bled out of his shoulders. 

"Yeah, Al?" 

"Now that we're in Dublith, maybe we should go see Teacher and Sig." 

Ed whipped his head to look at Al. Images of his not quiet dream from a few nights ago flitted through his mind. Teacher was made from stronger stuff than Winry or Granny or well anyone Ed knew really, but if he couldn't see Winry like this, he couldn't see Teacher, "We can't see them like this!" He stage whispered. 

Al looked taken aback, blinking before slapping on a smirk, "I'm beginning to think you're more self conscious about this than me."

Ed turned away with a deep frown. Guilt crawled up his back for being so worried about how he'd changed when he didn't even look any different. Al wanted to see teacher, even in his state, so why couldn't Ed push back his own anxiety? 

"Hey, you know she wouldn't do anything, right?" Al's voice softened and Ed returned his gaze, "She may be tough on us, but you know she treats us like family."

"I know...I just-"

"Would you want to hide from Mom?"

Ed stiffened, "Of course not!" Ed would jump at any opportunity to see his mom again, he'd do anything to get a glimpse of her even if it was her rejecting what he and his brother had become. Mom would love them no matter what though. 

"I know Teacher isn't Mom, but you think she'd treat us any different than Mom would looking the way we do? Sig too." 

Ed's face burned with shame. He had nothing to say to that, nothing he could articulate anyway. He couldn't really explain the gnawing feeling at the back of his mind, the cloying fear that he wasn't the same anymore and that it made him feel sick to think of facing people who had no idea what had happened. They'd expect an Ed who didn't snap his head at every sound, an Ed who didn't jump every time someone tapped his shoulder, an Ed that didn't wake up clammy from sweat. And the idea of telling someone, with his voice, what had changed made his throat close up just thinking about it. 

"We don't have to," Al amended, no doubt taking in his brother's pathetic state, "If you aren't ready, we don't have to. But I think she'll find us sooner or later."

"Di," Ed cleared his throat, "didn't she fight a bear in her training?"

Al's hands flew to the side of his head, "She's gonna track me down in no time!"

"I mean she found Sig didn't she?" Ed cracked a grin. 

Al, to his credit, looked briefly scandalized before playfully punching Ed in the arm with a laugh, "Brother!"

\--

"Really, that's it?" Dolcetto asked with crossed arms once the group made it to the bar's entrance. It was a simple stone archway covering steps that led to a blank wood door. Above the archway hung a chipped, green sign with the words "Devil's nest" painted on with red. It looked positively handmade. Below it, a tiny chunk of wood nailed tho the building read, "coming soon!"

"Home sweet home!" Greed declared with a grin that lit up his eyes. With hands in pocket he quickly descended the steps and produced a key from under a stray brick before the first chimera could make it to the bottom. He unlocked the door, handed it off to someone to hold and walked backwards into the building with arms wide, "Welcome to the Devil's Nest everyone!"

The group slowly filtered into the bar. They peered around every which way and scented the air as they cautiously filled the space. Greed hopped over the bar counter and rooted around the shelves. 

The large room had small tables and chairs strewn about, and the bar had a couple of stools with plush, pink cushions and well stocked shelves behind it. Other than that, the barren, gray walls and exposed piping of the place was down right depressing. In fact, to Ed, it almost look like someone stuffed chairs into their holding room at the lab, and if the stiffness in the room was anything to go by, the others thought so too. 

"It's not finished yet!" Greed announced with a finger pointed to the sky, "Im thinking maybe a neon sign here," he waved above his head with his back still turned, "with the bar's name, maybe in a pink that matches the stools?" He turned around with a bottle in hand and started producing shot glasses from behind the counter, "Don't judge those by the way, I thought they'd be a good splash of color and they were a good price. I also wanna get a could of couches and maybe a rug. Liven it up a bit, y'know? A raised platform," he pointed, "over there and a mic would be nice. Maybe we could have karaoke or an open mic night? Ooh, maybe I should get a radio for when it's a normal night. Either way, we definitely need music!" He glanced up at the group and began to count with his finger before frowning and faltering, "What are you all doing across the room like that? Come on in! Make yourself at home," he waved them over and resumed his count as the group timidly complied. 

He poured into the glasses cleanly and evenly, "I used to bartend some odd fifty years ago, but I always wanted my own bar, well always wanted it since I started working there anyway. It's not much now, but I know we can make this the best bar in Dublith," he laughed, "Best bar in Amestris even! But I want you guys to know that this is more than a bar. This is a safe place for you. Your new home, if you'll have it," he bent down and pulled a carton of orange juice from a small fridge and poured it in the last two shot glasses with a wink to Ed's annoyed face, "I want you to feel welcome here, and so firstly I propose a toast!" He waved a hand over the lined up glasses. 

Everyone grabbed a glass, Ed grumbled under his breath, and Al elbowed him discreetly in the side, happy to be included. 

Greed raised his glass and waited for everyone to do the same, "To new beginnings and wild times!"

"To new beginnings and wild times!" The crowd responded in kind before knocking the liquid back. 

After a moment Greed swept his eyes over the used dish ware in everyone's hands and huffed a laugh, "I guess now's a good time to show you the washing station and kitchen."

In the back room, Greed instructed everyone to set their glasses in the sink and worry about it later. The kitchen didn't have anything particularly interesting in it except a few chalkboard mocksups of menu signs. 

"I want to serve food here too, but I haven't decided on a final menu yet, and while I'd say I've picked up a thing or two in my years, cooking isn't my strong suit. I'm much better versed where people can see my face anyway, so if any of you have a passion for cooking, I'd greatly appreciate having this position filled. Now to the store rooms!" 

The store rooms had stacks of boxes and a large freezer, but other than that, it was just as bland as the other rooms. 

"This is where we'll keep stock, and I also think it might be a good place for staff meetings or something, keep a clear circle space and maybe put in a table. Someone good at math should work here to maintain our numbers," he pointed to a hallway at the back of the store room, "Down there leads to the sewers. I can't fully guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen here, you are all fugitives after all, and I know there are some people out there who'd like me in their hands, but I can guarantee an escape plan. Once everything settles more, we'll map out the tunnels and best routes."

After that, the group headed up stairs to a floor with several rooms. It had a cross layout with squares of rooms and a T shaped hallway with a small common area in the middle. 

"I'm pretty sure this used to be a storage place at some point, but it's got plenty of rooms and space for everyone. They're empty right now, but we'll take care of that. There's even a bathroom with a couple of stalls up here! I got someone to add a shower or too as well, but there's always the toilets down stairs if you need."

He pointed to a room by the staircase, "This room is mine," he said, pushing open the door and letting the others peer inside. It had the regular fixings of a room, just more cluttered. His bed had pillows to ad nauseam, taking up nearly half his bed, and cloths peaked out of the draws of his dresser whose top was covered in little knick knacks and a pair of small sunglasses. 

Ed caught sight of a calendar on the wall with a scantily dressed woman in a compromising pose on the top half, but he concerned himself with the bottom half, "Is that the current month?" he asked with a pointed finger. 

"Huh?" Greed looked at the calendar and cringed, "That's not child appropriate, oops. But yeah that's the month right now. Why?"

So he and Al had been there for a couple months. He'd thought maybe based on the weather, but they had indeed entered the few months where he was two years older than Al whose birthday came at the end of spring, start of fall in about a month. At least they hadn't missed his little brother's birthday while stuck in the lab, "Oh it's just that I'm actually eleven. Al's still nine though for like a month and a half."

"Ah, I see," Greed nodded, "Happy belated birthday then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a ton of fun with this chapter! I love writing Greed, and I hope I'm doing him justice!
> 
> As always, feedback is very much loved!


	8. Celebration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greed and the gang get things set up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey it's the 2 month aniversary of this fic (throws confetti)  
> Enjoy some Greed pov

The next morning found Greed once again assigning shopping groups. They needed beds, and items for the bar as well as items like toothbrushes, extra clothes, food, and Greed was even willing to allow personal items if it could be budgeted into the allowance he gave everyone. 

He took a deep breath and grinned as he watched those who elected to go shopping split up and start to search for their assigned items. In his two hundred years, Greed hadn't felt so good, except maybe the time gum got stuck in Envy's hair and Gluttony tried to get it out with his mouth. Lust ended up having to slice the hair out since even shapeshifting did nothing. He also hadn't felt so in control since leaving Father one hundred years ago. All these people were following _his_ command. 

He thought back on the conversation he had with that Ed kid this morning while handing out the allowances. 

"Why are you being so nice to us?" The kid had demanded with crossed arms, "You're Greed, aren't you? So why are you giving us all this place to stay and letting people buy things for themselves that don't benefit you with left over money, with _your_ left over money. Why are you being generous?"

Greed had laughed at the kid. He had a good head on his shoulders and understood the basic concept that Greed indeed do things for himself, he just couldn't comprehend how this also came back around to Greed's desires. 

"See kid, I do want money, but only to get more stuff. Having a lot of money means you can get almost anything you want. Maybe I could steal a couple of bar stools, but maybe I want to stay out of the eyes of the law. What good is money if it's just sitting there? If I wanted stacks of paper, I'd buy a notebook-"

"Actually it's made from cotton-"

"Then that's what my full closet is for. And maybe I'm giving some of the power money brings to others, but here's the thing, I want something more important than what a few bucks can give. I want the best henchmen and followers. That is more difficult to get than a car or snazzy new jacket, which makes it even more desirable! The best minions are ones that are happy and want to follow you as much as you want them to follow you. If they aren't happy, they do worse work, they're worse company, and you'll loose them. I'm not sure there are worse things than being in a place where you aren't happy, except maybe loosing those people who aren't happy, and kid?" 

Ed met his eyes. 

"I don't like to lose my things."

_That kid thinks too much_ , Greed thought as he walked into the sign shop. He'd lovingly handcrafted his own sign for the front door, but those new neon signs really piqued his interest. They were fresh and exciting. They caught eyes, and could glow in so many different bright colors. Having one behind the bar would look sleek and futuristic as hell. He might be about two hundred, but he certainly did not dwell in the past. Plus the glow might give off some nice mood lighting. Sloth was more of an artist than he, but he'd like to think his younger brother would agree a pink sign would work with the pink bar stools quite well, or at least make them look less random. 

"How can I help you?" The woman at the counter asked. 

"You guys make neon signs?"

The woman nodded with a smile, "Yes! We've just started! Well our sister location in Central does, we don't have capabilities yet, but I can put in an order there and have it delivered here in just a couple of days."

"How long is a couple of days?"

"Two to five."

Greed pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, "I knew I should've looked into it while I was in Central."

"Do you still want the sign, sir?" The woman ask with a paper and pen ready to take down the details. 

"Oh, hell yeah."

Greed left after giving her the information of what he wanted, his phone number to know when it was ready, and the money for it. He pocketed the receipt he'd need in to prove his purchase and moved on to the furniture store. 

The man seemed to think it odd the amount of beds Greed wanted delivered to his building, but a sale was a sale and Greed was good for it, in cash no less. 

The electronics shop indeed has a microphone and stand, and even a radio on sale! The shopkeeper said it was an older model, but it'd get the job done. 

All in all, the day was going rather superb, and only got better when his eyes caught sight of something he had to have at the thrift store. 

Envy used to make fun of him for thrifting since they figured Greed would want higher quality and new goods, but Greed preferred to get more for less, even if he had to take hand-me-downs. After all, wasn't his life force a bunch of used, hand-me-down souls? 

He grabbed the vest off the hanger was delighted to see it was his size. Trudging his radio and sound equipment over to a mirror, he slipped it on and admired the look. The vest had soft fur trim around the neck line that made him really stand out. His fashion has never been anything but bold, and this matched his taste impeccably. 

He was definitely going to wear this one out. 

On his way to the cash register, he eyed the furniture section and took interest in a green couch. It was a little worse for wear, definitely well used, but the price was good, and it seemed to scream that it belonged in his bar. However, even though Greed was strong, he doubted he could carry this thing back on his own. He put his hands on his hips and struggled to think of ideas for getting the couch back before remember he had the chimeras now. 

He'd need Roa for this job. 

He quickly paid for the jacket, had the clerk cut the tag off, and walked into the street, searching for the ox. 

After maybe fifteen minutes, he found Roa with Martel and Dolcetto in the place he least expected to find them. The small group turned at the sound of his heels on the cobblestone. 

"Hey, boss," Dolcetto grinned and lifted a hand in greeting. He had apparently done some shopping for himself as he now wore a loose, sleeveless gi over his shirt, and a sword at his hip. 

Greed warmed at the greeting. _Boss_ , now that felt good, "Hey, nice new digs."

Dolcetto pulled at the gi, "See, he gets it," he said to Martel. 

She waved him off, "Like he's a good example, look at what he's wearing," she turned to Greed, "Did you really buy that?"

Greed looked down at the vest, "Whaaat? I think it looks cool!" 

"I think so too."

"Thank you, Dolcetto."

"Of course you would, dog brain," Martel teased. 

"Hey, hey, no fair playing that card!" Dolcetto leaned in her space. 

"So, why are you guys out front of a toy shop?" Greed changed the subject. 

"Edward missed his birthday," Roa said simply, "We thought we'd do something for him."

"Yeah, we've been looking at this train set in the window," Dolcetto waved Greed over to peer at the toy train in the window. 

"We figured it was the best toy to make things feel normal. You always see them in the catalogs and magazines with pictures of happy kids," Martel elaborated. 

Greed nodded thoughtfully, "I don't think the kid trusts me. Maybe if we threw him a party, he'd stop being so confrontational. I'm always looking for an excuse to party anyway. What if he already has a train set though?"

"Then he'll feel more at home than ever," Dolcetto grinned. 

"Sounds good to me as long as you got your other shopping done."

Martel nodded, "Already dropped off back at the bar too."

"Excellent! Do you need Roa for this train business?"

The group shook their heads, "Great, then come on big guy, I got a job for you." 

\--

The next few days were spent with Greed setting up jobs. He taught those interesting in serving drinks everything he knew about mixology and pouring, Roa worked him to set up a menu, and Greed left him in charge of teaching his cooking skills to anyone else interested in the kitchen, some were more oriented towards violence and orders, so Greed taught them how to raid, signal, and weasel information out of people. 

He was naturally draw towards Bido, Dolcetto, Martel, and Roa, so he kept them close to his operations. Roa was good muscle, Martel could interrogate better than anyone he'd met, Bido could sneak anywhere and was notoriously hard to catch, and Greed could count on Dolcetto to watch his back. 

In between all this, the small group discussed what to do for Ed (they also dabbled with Al's upcoming birthday). The chimeras knew Ed better, so he let them discuss the plans. They finally decided on a surprise party, as Ed wouldn't accept anything unless it was literally thrust upon him. Roa could make a cake, Bido could hang up decorations real easy, Martel was good at wrapping, and Dolcetto could be on look out to make sure Ed didn't come back before they were ready. Greed just had to get the kid out of the building. 

"Hey kid," Greed stopped Ed one day.

"What?" Ed raised an eyebrow. 

"Kids go to school right? And you and your brother are kids, but we can't send Al to class, and I doubt you'd go if he couldn't-"

"That's right," Ed put his hands on his hips.

"But you kids should still be using your brains and whatever, so I've decided you have to go to the library and pick out learning books and spend time everyday reading and learning."

Ed furrowed his eyebrows, "That's your replacement for school?"

Greed hummed affirmatively. 

"Can't they be about alchemy?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Then I guess that's ok..."

"Great! Hop to it!" Greed pointed at the door. 

Ed sputtered, "Right now??"

Greed nodded and started steering Ed towards the door, "Yup, I'm not a patient man, so get out there and get some knowledge and don't come back empty handed!"

"Wait wait wait G-"

Greed closed the door. 

A couple minutes later, Dolcetto poked his head in from his position by the enterence, crying with laughter, "Kid's real pissed at you, boss."

"But he's gone right?"

"Right."

"Then lets decorate people!"

The chimeras began to decorate the place while Dolcetto kept watch and Roa iced the cake he made. Greed made sure everyone was doing their job. 

Eventually Al, wandered downstairs to see what the commotion was and found Bido hanging up streamers, "What's going on?"

He crawled down from the wall and put a party hat to Al's head, "We're throwing a belated birthday party for your brother."

Al looked around, "He's never liked parties, y'know."

"He seems like he'd like the spotlight."

"Yeah, but that's when he puts himself there. He doesn't do well with excessive kindness."

"That's why it's a surprise party!"

Al smirked, the glint of sibling trouble lit his eyes, "This is going to bug him so bad. He doesn't like surprises either," he rubbed his hands together, "Ok, this is going to be great. I can't wait to see the look on his face."

Bido back away slightly. 

Eventually Dolcetto rushed inside and warned everyone to duck into their hiding spots. 

"Dol, why'd you...run..." Ed surveyed the decorated room, "What the hell's all th-"

"SURPRISE!"

Everyone jumped out and Ed scrambled back against the door, "Wh-what?" 

Dolcetto appeared out of nowhere, ruffled Ed's hair, and snapped a party hat on him, "Happy late birthday, kiddo."

"What?! I don't-I-you guys shouldn't-you guys didn't have to do this for me..." Ed's hands fluttered about uselessly and his face turned red. 

"Well the decorations can't be returned," Greed spoke plainly with a party horn in the corner of his mouth unfurling a little with every word, "And you'd be heartless to turn down the cake Roa worked so hard on." 

The kid looked over at Roa standing at the ready with a cake cutter. 

"I...I-ok I guess..."

Al jumped up with a cheer and dragged Ed to the cake. 

After cake, Greed walked over to the small group surrounding Ed watch the kid's friends hand him the wrapped train set. 

"You guys really don't have to do this for me," Ed stared at his shoes. 

Roa patted him on the back, "Open it."

Ed complied, peeling the paper back. When he saw what his gift was, his hands began to shake, then his shoulders. He looked up with eyes that seemed like they were straining not to tear up, "I...I've never had a train set before..." his choked voice was quiet. 

"So you like it then?" Martel asked. 

Ed put the box on the nearby bar stool and ran forward to hug his friends as much as his little arms could reach. 

Greed smiled at the sight and let them be. 

The chimeras chattered happily among themselves while Greed watched from his spot leaning against the countertop, drink in hand. At some point someone had turned on the radio, and a couple people even danced awkwardly near it. Never had Greed been in an environment with so much good energy. Everyone seemed comfortable with each other, the air was free of tension or conflict. It relaxed Greed to a surprising amount. 

"Hey."

Greed looked down to find the kid there, "What's up, short stack?"

Ed glared, "I'm not short!"

Greed laughed, "Ok, kid, what did you want."

"Thanks."

Greed lifted his eyebrows and lowed his glass from where he about to take a sip, "What for?"

"All this."

"Ah, kid you know I can't take credit for this, your pals did this."

"I know you must have had something to do with it, though."

Greed's lips twitched into a wry grin, "Yeah well, don't think this is all for you. Part of it is a party to celebrate this joint opening in a few days."

Ed rolled his eyes, "Ok, Greed."

Greed watched the kid run off and pull Al of balance by his party hat. This was nice. This was different. This was good. 

Greed could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These kids deserve nice things. 
> 
> Feedback is loved much, as always!


	9. Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistakes were made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all liked that party
> 
> See end notes for warnings
> 
> Author isn't sure alchemy works that way

Ed liked the roofs of the Devil's Nest's alleyway. When he wasn't hanging out with Al or running errands, he enjoyed reading on a rooftop or just watching the world go by. Sometimes Dolcetto changed his position from the entryway to the roof opposite of Ed where he could still keep the door in his sight. Even though Ed most often spent his free time studying, he couldn't say he didn't enjoy the days taking across the alley with Dol while he blew puffs of smoke from the pipe he'd picked up the same day Martel went to the barber's and buzzed her hair short. 

"Why do you use that thing?" Ed asked one afternoon. 

"It's a habit I picked up in the military. It helps me relax," Dolcetto answered. 

Ed enjoyed the scent he could pick up from the other building. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he was back in Risembool, "My friend, Winry, her Granny smokes a pipe too, I think she just likes the flavor though."

Dolcetto sat on his back and looked at the clouds above them, "Yeah, that's what pipes and cigars are for, you don't actually inhale anything, and they don't have all that processed junk in those cigarettes Greed uses."

Ed nodded, he doubted he'd ever use either, after all, he couldn't even handle that time Winry had poked holes in the helium balloons at her eighth birthday and changed the pitch of her voice. Al and Winry were pros, but Ed just choked. 

"Why're you always studying that alchemy stuff like someone's gonna give you the most important test in the world?" Dolcetto changed the subject, "You seem as good as any alchemist I've met."

"Just how many alchemists have you met?" Ed asked. 

Dolcetto shrugged, "A couple."

"There's always more to learn," Ed brushed his thumb over the embossing on the cover of his book, "If I just study enough, I can find a way to fix this."

Dolcetto sat up, "Oh, kid...you don't have to fix this. This isn't your responsibility."

Ed bit his lip and tightened his grip on the book. Of course he had to fix this, he couldn't go home until he fixed this, he couldn't stand the growling instinct scratching at the back of his mind, he couldn't stand the way Al suffered in pain from his incomplete transmutation. No one deserved the suffering they'd faced, and if Ed could fix it, then he would try his damnedest.

\--

Al studied too. He agreed on trying to undo this mess. Teacher taught them not to use alchemy to fix everything, but it seemed like the right thing to do now. The reflection in the mirror wasn't him. It was still him logically, but it wasn't his eyes, or his nose, his smile was the same shape, but several of his teeth were sharper and had cut his tongue before he got used to it. His ears hurt often, pulled halfway up his head, and he knew Bido found it hard to sit comfortably with the tail that also caused him back pain. 

During bar hours, Al stayed up stairs with the other chimeras that couldn't pass for human. He spent most of his time studying, but he'd become exceedingly good at poker and other card games when taking a break from reading. Behind all that, he wondered how the others all felt with their deformities. Some had horns, strange eyes, or even shifted bone structures like snouts. It made him shiver. He and Ed would change this, if not for each other's sake, then for the sake of those who moaned from pain during their sleep. 

"Do you think you can really fix us?" Bido asked one day while playing checkers downstairs with Al. Ed had been sent on an errand that afternoon which left Al with the lizard he'd grown close too. 

Al nodded, "Yes. Alchemy can do just about anything. I don't see any reason we couldn't deconstruct what was done to us. Brother seems pretty confident too."

"I still don't understand how this alchemy stuff works," Bido sighed. 

"It's just changing things into other things really. You just have to have the parts to make something since you can't make something out of nothing, that would defying the law of equivalent exchange. I could change this table to a different shape, but only with the amount of wood I have," Al jumped over one of Bido's pieces, "Does that make sense?"

Bido shrugged, "I guess, but I don't get how that's gonna fix this."

Al furrowed his brows, "We're still figuring that out. We have a couple of working theories, but we'll just have to test them out until we figure it out."

\--

The working theories turned out to be a bust. At best, the arrays lit up and fizzled out to no effect, at worst they caused the boys to writhe on the basement floor as the reaction pulled at the animal part intertwined in them until giving up and leaving the brothers panting on the floor. 

They refused to give up and at times it worried Greed. He'd taken a liking to the boys in the months they'd lived in his home. It made his lip curl to watch them limp up the stairs to their room with heads hung in defeat. They were the only kids in the group, which made them rare, and their loss would be more felt if something went wrong. 

He knew that if the boys did manage to find a way to undo what the military had done, that the chimera would be boundlessly happy. Greed figured that the loyalty they'd forged for him and the fact that their lives had changed so drastically would cause most of them to stay, but the selfish part of him that curled in his chest and made the muscles under his hand twitch couldn't bare the thought of loosing anyone due is protection no longer being needed. He couldn't decide if he hated losing his things or wanted to see his entourage's blinding smile more. 

The day he found Ed studying a zoology text instead of an alchemy book eased the knot of warring conflict in his chest, "So animals, huh?" He asked from his spot behind the bar cleaning glasses. 

Ed looked up from where he sat, startled, "Oh, uh yeah. I figured to might be helpful to study the animals we've been fused with. Might help us deal with problems," Ed licked his lips quickly. 

"I think that's a great idea," Greed encouraged. It really did seem like a good plan. He'd often found himself out of his depth with the chimeras' special needs or mannerisms. For the longest time, he couldn't understand why Martel sometimes flicked her tongue out, or why Dolcetto had acted like Greed was threatening to murder his family that time he offered the bouncer chocolate, "Find anything interesting?"

Ed thought for a moment, eyes darting around, "Well it says here that male lions sleep for twenty hours a day which," Ed yawned, "might explain why I'm more tired. Al says I'm just being lazy."

Greed snorted, "I know lazy, kid, and you ain't it."

"Hey, by the way, can I have some money for alchemy supplies?" Ed asked, batting his eyes. 

Greed eyed him, "You do all your chores and errands?"

"Yup!"

Greed nodded, "Yeah sure, I'll get you your allowance later."

"Cool. Thanks, Greed," Ed slipped off the bar stool and grabbed the empty plate that once had been lunch made by Roa, "I'm gonna go compare notes with Al now."

Greed held out his hand for the plate and began to wash it, "And then take a nap?"

Ed grinned, "Heh. Maybe."

\--

By five in the morning some nights later, Ed figured that anyone who had closed the bar up at two would have fallen asleep. He woke Al from his slumber in the bed across the room and the two slunk to the basement. 

"I still don't see why we need to do this so late," Al rubbed his eyes. 

"Because, this time, it's really going to work, and I don't want anyone getting in the way," Ed said, beginning to sketch on the concrete floor. 

Al scoffed, "Because you don't want anyone to tell you this is a crazy idea."

"It's the last plan we got unless we want to try and break into the military library."

"I'll pass."

"I don't see why it wouldn't work. We transmute a physical form the animals so that it can leave us, and what are you so worried about anyway? I'm going first."

Al frowned, dumping the materials for the lion, "Because you're my brother...but...do you really think the lion is still alive?"

"It has to be," Ed shuddered, "I...think it talks to me..."

"I'm not so sure..." Al shuffled his feet, socks catching on the concrete, "I think that's just our brains now..."

But Ed was resolved, "No...it like it's pacing back there, I can feel it."

Al watched warily as his brother finished the array, and joined him once it was ready. 

\--

Greed woke with a start, choking on a snort. He fumbled around confused as to what woke him before getting twisted in his sheets and falling on his face with a crack. He shot blood out of his healing nose and pulled on a pair of sweat pants. 

"What the hell's going on?" He growled when he found the hallway full of distressed chimeras. 

Then he heard it. 

The sound that woke him up. 

Screaming. 

This wasn't the kind of screaming that came from nightmares. No, no, no, this was the kind of screaming that came when someone wandered too close to Father's lair and got torn limb from limb by the chimeras there. Greed shook the last vestiges of sleep away and ran for the stairs. 

"Move," he hissed at someone in the doorway, quickly shouldering past them and rushing to basement, gang at his heels. 

When he opened the door, he did not like what he saw. 

Al kneeled, bare chested, holding his night shirt to his screaming brother's side. When Greed descended the rest of the steps down, he could tell the blood soaking the shirt came from a pouring stump. 

"Where the fuck is your arm?!" He demanded probably louder than necessary. 

"It's gone!" Ed wailed. 

"I can see that!" He snapped, "But arms don't just disappear!"

"He took it!" The boy cried. 

"We're sorry!" Al whined repeatedly. 

Greed ran a hand down his face, "For fucks sake," he grumbled before pointing at the group watching from the doorway. They flinched back, "Which one of you is best with medicine 'n shit?"

"Doc is!" Someone called out. 

"For real or is that just some incidental nickname?" 

Doc pushed his way through the crowd, "I wasn't a medic, but I assisted them a lot, I've picked up some stuff!"

"Good enough to save this kid until we can get him proper help?" He looked over Doc critically. 

Doc nodded, "I'll get him through the night."

Dolcetto struggled his way in with a high pitched noise coming from the back of his throat, Martel, Bido, and Roa following behind him. Bido stood at the edge of the room wringing his hands nervously as the other three surged forward. 

"Watch Alphonse," Doc commanded, pulling a first aid kit from a box in the corner of the room. 

Dolcetto eased Al to his feet, but the boy tilted at if the floor had been pulled from under his feet. Roa caught him and held the boy in his arms. 

"You ok, kid?" Dolcetto asked, concern deep in his voice. 

"What?" Al knitted his brows together. 

"Are you ok?" Dolcetto asked louder. 

Al's eyes shifted to his brother who howled in pain as Doc poured alcohol over his shoulder. Al shrugged. 

"Your ear's bleeding," Martel dabbed his cheek and brought back red fingers, "Alphonse...what happened?" 

His eyes stared vacantly across the room at a smoking pile of black muck, "There...was an eye...and a lot of white."

Greed's eyebrow twitched, an eye?

"He's in shock," Roa surmised.

Greed turned his attention back to Doc's work of stitching Ed's arm up. He crouched down and took the kid's hand. He had a shockingly strong grip for an eleven year old. 

"It was supposed to work," Ed's voice quivered with eyes shut tight. 

"I know, kid," Greed sighed. He eyed the mangled mass in the circle center, "I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for: blood, amputation
> 
> This is where things pick up folks! I don't know if this is how gate passing would work. I'm legitimizing it by saying they were transmuting themselves and also trying to bring back a dead animal which I don't know if that's against the rules or not, but this could amount to at least a little suffering right? Probably unfair, but we'll discuss that later. 
> 
> Feedback is my lifeblood!


	10. Train

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greed takes charge in the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, sorry for the wait! But this is almost 3k words, so hopefully that makes up for it haha

Greed sat in the hallway with his back against the wall. His feet touched the opposite wall and thumbs twiddled uselessly. Outside, he could hear birds chirping and people bustling about the streets. Everyone had gone back to their rooms hours ago, but Greed doubted any of them had gone back to sleep. Even he could feel the tension in the air. 

Ed had passed out soon after Doc finished patching him up as best as possible. Hopefully he was resting peacefully in his bed right now. He deserved it after the night he'd had. 

Greed shivered. He'd seen horror and gore, sure, but this was different. Ed wasn't some nameless intruder who'd taken a wrong turn, he was someone Greed knew and found himself fond of. Ed was his responsibility, and Greed felt himself wishing he could go back and discourage the kid or do something, anything. Above all, Ed was a kid. 

Greed massaged his forehead with a sigh. 

_He's just a kid._

Greed struggled with the concept of youth, never being a child himself, but he'd had plenty of years to figure out that kids were innocent. Some kids did bad things, sure, but they didn't know better. Their brains couldn't yet understand the rational of certain actions, and they didn't carry the same sins adults did. The boys made a mistake, they didn't deserve this. 

They still hadn't figured out what had happened to Al. After cleaning up the blood from his ear, he still seemed shaken up, hardly able to walk straight, but otherwise unhurt. But it was what he'd told the others that bothered Greed. 

An eye. 

Was it possible that they'd opened the Gate that Father always spoke about? The one he'd failed to reproduce in Gluttony? Greed didn't quite know what to make of it. Father never told him much, not since he'd shown an adversity to lying and appreciation for wandering about the surface, so he didn't understand much, but whoever Ed had called "He" made his blood boil. Whoever it was who had taken Ed's arm had stolen from the boy, and therefore stolen from him. His fingers curled into fists against his pants. 

A door opening next to him snapped him out of his thoughts. Al shuffled out of his room and slid down the wall across from Greed. He hugged his knees to his chest. 

"What's up, squirt?"

Al didn't saying anything for awhile until muttering, "Can't sleep."

Greed allowed himself a rueful smile, "I can't imagine why."

The boy lifted his gaze, "What?"

"I understand what you mean," Greed spoke a little louder. 

Al frowned and rested his chin on his arms, "I think my hearing got taken in this ear," he pointed to the one that'd bled earlier, "Like the ear drum got taken or something." 

Greed pulled back, puzzled. How could his ear drum get taken without busting his head open? Ed's arm had seemed ripped from his socket but...well Doc did say something about the amputation being shockingly clean, unlike the ragged messes he'd seen on the battlefield. Could the Gate have take something from Al's ear so cleanly too? "No shit?" 

Al nodded, "I'm having trouble hearing and balancing."

"Maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Some of the people here have told me that they've suffered trauma that temporarily took their hearing," Greed suggested. 

Al laughed, it was hollow and lifeless, "My brother screams loud, but he's not that loud." 

They lapsed into silence after that. At some point, Al crossed the hallway and settled into Greed's side. 

\--

Ed opened his eyes slowly. The ceiling of his and Al's room at the Devil's Nest stared back at him. A foggy haze hung in his mind, but a persistent pain radiated beneath it. He scrunched his eyes up and groaned. What had happened? 

He pushed himself to a sitting position, or tried anyway. He found himself almost falling off the side of his bed when the weight he'd put on his right side found no support. 

He couldn't feel his right arm. 

His throat closed up when he looked over at the empty space where a limb should be and the speckled red bandages wrapped around his shoulder. 

He fought to keep his breathing even as he wracked his brain for an explanation. What had happened? He glanced over to the empty bed across the room. Where was Al? Was he ok? He remembered setting up the transmutation and then...

The transmutation. 

A whine started in the back of his throat as memories of the Gate came back to him. The sickening smile of Truth, the endless white void, information crammed into his brain until he felt his head would split, it all came back to him in waves. The memory left him shaking, as did the pain flaring in his shoulder. Worst of all, he could still feel the pacing presence in the back of his mind, panicking in blind pain, uncomprehending that Ed was in a safe place and that running wouldn't help anything. 

However, Ed did swing his feet out of the bed when he imagined what could've happened to Al. He nearly toppled when moving caused his right side to light up in agony so great, he felt nauseous. He grit his teeth and pulled himself back up, staggering to the door. He reached out for the handle, only for his hand to fall lamely to his side when the door swung open. 

"Whoa! You're awake!" Greed exclaimed from the other side of the threshold, "What're you doing out of bed?!"

"Where's Al," Ed asked, paying no mind to what the man had said. 

"He's sleeping in Dol's room," Greed answered and pushed himself into the room, "We had to force him in there because all he did in here was pace around and worry about you. I'm surprised he didn't wear a trench in the floor."

Ed frowned, he didn't want to worry anyone, "Is he ok?"

"More or less. He thinks he lost hearing in his left ear, but I think he should wait a few days and see if it clears up."

Ed stumbled back and plopped down on the bed, shoulders sagging. He let out a shuddering breath. 

"Hey quit that."

Ed looked up at Greed with knitted brows. 

"You're getting that guilty look on your face. Eleven, and you're already an angsty teenager," Greed shook his head, "If you ask me, Al got off with a slap on the wrist compared to you."

Rage twisted Ed's features, "That's not the point!" He snarled, "He wasn't sure about the idea, but I convinced him to do it, and it was the lion we were trying so that if it went wrong, I'd be the one to take it, not him! He doesn't deserve this!"

Greed looked taken aback, "And you do?"

Ed's mouth worked wordlessly before he settled on a mumbled, "Yes..."

"Doubtful."

"I played God and dragged my little brother into it."

Greed scoffed, "Please. First of all, Al is like a year younger than you, he's not a helpless baby you have to protect, two if Al didn't want to do something, he wouldn't. You Elrics are a stubborn duo, and Al is an independent thinker. And lastly, I didn't come across any alchemists or scientists missing any body parts when I tore through that lab. They weren't punished for what they did to you, so why are you punished for trying to fix it?"

Ed gaped at him more like a fish than a lion, "I...I-"

"Now are you gonna eat this, or you just going to let it go cold?"

The boy blinked and noticed for the first time that Greed had a tray balanced on his hand. His stomach twisted at the idea of eating. 

"Roa made it, grilled cheese and tomato soup," Greed explained as he placed the tray down on the bed next to Ed, "You'd best eat it, I don't like waste."

Ed watched the man drop onto Al's bed with crossed arms and an expectant look. Picking up the spoon made Ed's hand shake, and his stomach rolled, but he shoveled the soup into his mouth, lips twisting in displeasure. It tasted great, Roa had real talent, but the sensation had him recoiling. 

"I'll take you to see Al if you eat," Greed examined his nails, nonchalant. 

Ed grumbled but put more effort into eating. 

"I'll send Doc over later to see about changing your bandages and getting you more pain killers," Greed said when Ed had finished about half the meal. The kid grunted in reply, "I know we're right next to Rush Valley, but have you seen how expensive automail is?"

Ed started to answer, but Greed cut him off. 

"Don't speak with your mouth full," he cracked his neck, "Of course you know how expensive it is, didn't you say that friend of yours and her old lady are automail mechanics? I bet they'd give you a family discount."

Ed slammed his spoon down, "I don't want to see them!"

"Well you're gonna!" Greed retorted back without missing a beat, "I'll drag you to Risembool if I must."

"You're really so cheap you'd take me across the country by my collar?" Ed glared. 

"What's my name?" 

"Fuck you."

"Incorrect." 

Ed groaned. 

"What's the big deal anyway? They're your family, aren't they?" 

"That's hypocritical coming from you," Ed huffed. 

"As if. I've heard you and Al talk about them, you love them. You're not related by blood, but they're the family you chose. See, I didn't choose the family I left. So again, what's your hold up? I suggested this to Al and he was ecstatic."

Ed faltered and looked down at his soup, "I just...they can't see us like this..."

"Ah geez, is your middle name fear? You think they'd turn you away? See Al and call the military? Do you think Al is an idiot?"

Ed whipped his head around so fast, Greed was shocked it didn't spin off, "Of course not! How dare you suggest something like that!"

"Then trust his confidence in this plan, and don't doubt his judgement," Greed stood before Ed could answer and headed to the door, "I'm gonna get Doc, then I'll tell Al you're awake."

With that, he exited the room. 

\--

"Come on! Let's go!" Greed called up the stairs, "If we're late, you're going to be bussing tables until you can buy new train tickets!"

Al trotted down the steps while Ed grumbled behind him, suitcase slung over his shoulder. 

"Bring us back a post card or something," Martel called from the booth she practiced knife tricks in. 

"Yeah, because Risembool is such a looker," Dolcetto snickered. 

"I'll have you know, Risembool is beautiful," Al stuck his nose up, but he smiled. 

"Yeah, yeah great, dirt roads and sheep. Hood up, squirt, let's go," Greed ushered the boys ahead of him. He opened the door, letting them walk out towards the street before turning back to his gang inside the bar, "Oh, and Roa's in charge while I'm gone."

"What?!" Dolcetto cried. 

"He's the most financially responsible of you."

Dol's hand splayed across his chest, "C'mon, I'm responsible!"

Greed shook his head, "You didn't talk me out of buying that piano," he gestured to the offending instrument in the corner. 

"I think the piano was a great investment!" 

Greed pointed at Dolcetto with narrowed eyes, "Roa's in charge," he shut the door behind him. 

A light drizzle started up on the way to the train station, which worked in their favor as no one would question the boy with his hood pulled up to cover his face. Greed cursed, shrugging off his vest and hunching over it as best he could to protect the fur trim from the rain. Ed simply growled and tried to balance his suitcase on his head as a pseudo-umbrella. 

Luckily, the train arrived pretty quickly and the trio dashed from the station's awning to the open train door. Greed dug the tickets from his pocket, a little crumbled and water damaged, but the attendant took them anyway, eyeing the group suspiciously and then giving Greed a dirty look. 

The homunculus snatched the punched tickets back, "Get your head out of the gutter, they're my sons, you twat," he snarled, turning and beckoning the boys to follow. 

Ed stuck his tongue out at the attendant. 

"So, your sons, huh?" Al teased sometime later when they'd settled into their seats. 

Greed groaned and pressed his face into the window, "Leave me alone kid, I'd rather be mistaken for a dad tha-"

"Than a daddy?" Ed lifted an eyebrow. 

Greed held up his index finger and thumb with only a hairsbreadth between them, "I am this close."

Al dissolved into a bout of giggles. 

After that, Ed seemed to lose his steam and curled up against the window with his feet pulled on to the bench he and Al shared. He hadn't ridden a train in a long time. The last time had been during a family trip to East City for a chance to explore something different from their rural town. He remembered watching the trees zip past while Hohenheim gave him a basic understanding of how trains worked. Mom passed the time by coming up with a silly story and pausing every now and then to let the brothers decided details in the tale or where it the plot went. He couldn't recall what the story was about, but remembered it had been so absurd that an attendant had to ask Al to quiet his giggles which only made the family laugh harder. The image of his parents leaning on each other, Hohenheim wiping away tears, Mom with a hand clasped over her mouth, but doing little to hide the joyful crinkle by her eyes twisted something in Ed's gut. 

He focused on the landscape speeding by, letting the soft voices of Al and Greed conversing sooth him. 

Greed watched the boy's eyes slowly dip closed and his breathing even out with a slight frown. 

"I'm worried about him," Al murmured. 

Greed flicked his eyes over to the younger boy, "He'll be fine, squirt. He's a tough cookie."

"He's hardly spoken since the accident...he won't even look at me. If it was anyone else, I'd think they were mad at me but Ed...? He's just mad at himself."

"Mm," Greed hummed in agreement. 

"I keep trying to talk to him about it, but he always find some excuse. It's like he's afraid I'm going to hate him or something. Or-or that he doesn't want me to say I'm not mad because he doesn't think he deserves it," Al crossed his arms, "He's always like this. Ever since Mom died. It's annoying."

Greed chuckled, "I bet his guilt complex is very annoying."

"Well when you say it like that, I sound like a jerk," Al laughed softly. 

Once the train reached their stop, Greed reached over and shook Ed gently in the hopes of waking him without causing him pain. Greed's mouth twisted with displeasure at the warmth coming from the boy and the way he tensed and glanced around wildly, "C'mon kid, this is our stop."

"Oh...ok," Ed yawned and slipped off the seat. 

Once on the group reached the platform, Greed pulled the boys aside to a bench, crouched down, and started unraveling Ed's bandage. 

"Hey what's the big idea?" asked Ed. 

"Just checking," Greed answered. As he thought, the wound hidden beneath stared back at him with angry red and puffy skin. Yellow crust lined his stitches, and Greed was sure if he scratched it away, it would seep. Carefully, he wrapped what was left of Ed's arm up, "Yup, you've got an infection. Your old lady able to patch that up?"

"Definitely," Al answered, "Granny's a surgeon, you know."

Greed nodded, "Then let's hop to it. Lead the way."

Risembool had its charm. Greed might've preferred Dublith with its night life and bustling streets, but he couldn't deny the part of him the appreciated the simplicity of the countryside. The air smelled different, cleaner, and the rolling hills did make the place postcard worthy. The locals all raised their hats or waved in friendly greeting, and Greed took great pleasure in pointing out farm animals grazing in the distance. Back with Father, he'd only really ever seen the mangy chimeras or pigeons when he went out. Dublith wasn't much better, also having mostly pigeons or stray cats. He knew Roa was mixed with a cow, but he'd never seen one in real life. 

Al had laughed at his childlike wonder and called him a townie. 

Ed had smirked and called him a city slicker when he complained about the dirt road turning his black shoes brown. 

By the time Ed fumbled with his own feet and took to leaning on Greed, Al had promised they were almost there. 

Sure enough, a fork in the road came into view, one side leading to a shop with the sign "Rockbell Automail" and the other leading to an empty lot with only a tree sporting a swing to decorate the area. The boys stopped dead in their tracks at the sight. 

"Where the fuck is the house!?"

"Alphonse!" Both Greed and Ed exclaimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let Alphonse Say Fuck 2k18
> 
> I have a plan for next chapter, so hopefully that'll come out pretty soon. I'm excited, we're getting into some interesting territory.


	11. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been many days, but here you go! I really got into italics this chapter.

It was gone, the entire house just...gone! 

Ed and Al scoured the place where their home once stood but found nothing, not even wreckage. Ed boiled, thinking that someone had ordered its destruction in their absence. A smaller part of him went cold with worry that the Rockbells had ordered such a thing. 

Al kept a more level head. He thought about Risembool's infamous storms. It could rain enough to break dams, like when they met Teacher, and the lightning regularly took out a few of their population every summer. When the storms inevitably killed the electricity, the flashes outside could almost make up for the lights. It wasn't a stretch to imagine the house got struck or suffered flood damage. 

Greed sat uselessly on the tree swing with his hands by his calves, watching the boys in the distance. He wondered how he'd feel if he came back to bar after awhile only to find it empty or gone. He shuddered at the thought. He hadn't had it long, but still he'd never had a place he could so confidently call home. He'd thought homunculi couldn't understand the concept, but now he felt different. He'd be crushed to find it gone like the Elrics found their house, and he'd definitely hunt down the person responsible. 

A cold wetness against his hand made him shoot up and snatch his hand to his chest with a gasp. His eyes locked with a dog who almost seemed offended by his surprise. It sat down with a huffy snort and Greed noticed its automail leg. Maybe it belonged to the Rockbells?

He lowered his hand and let the dog sniff it, "Hello," it licked his knuckles, "You're friendly," he leaned over to scratch it behind the ears. The dog leaned appreciatively into his hand. 

"DEN!" The dog and Greed snapped their heads to where Al stood with arms raised high. He ran over and promptly dropped to his knees next to the dog, Ed hot on his heels. 

Den jumped up and pushed against Al's chest, attacking his face with frantic licks, "Hey girl!" Al laughed, smile bright, "I guess you still recognize me. Did you miss me?"

The dog's swishing tail was answer enough. When Ed came over with an open arm, Den gave him the same treatment, but stopped short to sniff along his collarbone until reaching his bandaged shoulder. Den licked the gauze with a whine. 

"Yeah, I know," Ed stroked her back. 

Giving his cheek one more lick, Den started trotting insistently towards the house next door. She stopped partway there to look over her shoulder until Greed and the boys followed her. 

She stopped at the doorway and sat down, looking up at the group expectantly. 

Al ignored Ed's hesitation and knocked on the door. 

A few moments passed with Ed tugging at the frayed edge of his sweater and Al bouncing on his heels, but finally the door swung open. 

"Rockbell Automail! How can...I...Ed?" The girl on the other side's eyes instantly found the nervous boy, and her customer service smile faltered. 

"Hey Winry," Ed's voice came out small. 

Tears filled Winry's eyes, and her lip wobbled. She took in a shaking breath, trembling shoulders raising. 

"I know it's been awhile but-" Ed's head whipped to the side and he stumbled back, "Hey why the hell'd you slap me?!" 

The tears spilled over, "Where have you been?!" Winry sobbed, "We-we thought you died! Thought you got caught up in the fire or something! The police looked for you both for _weeks_ , Ed!" Her pitch raised in hysterics, "You can't just come back and 'hey Winry' me! Can't just come back with-with," she waved her hand around Greed, "this _stranger_ like nothing happened! And where's Al-" her eyes searched and landed on the boy on the other side of the porch steps, "Oh my gosh, Al," she breathed. 

The boy had forgone his disguise to see his family, and waved shyly at, "Hi Win."

Her eyes roamed over his features and her hands quaked before coming up to cover her mouth, tears coming faster, "What happened to you guys? What did I miss?" She asked the floorboards miserably. 

Ed reached his hand out to wipe her tears, and that's when she noticed his empty sleeve, blowing slightly in the wind, " _And where is your arm, Ed?!_ " she shouted, snatching his remaining wrist and pulling it away from her face. 

"Ms. Winry, is something the matter-oh."

Greed watched Ed go white as a sheet and felt his shield begin to creep up his fingers when he saw Al look just as bloodless. The man had serious eyes that widened when they locked onto Al, and his blue uniform told Greed everything he needed to know. 

_Military._

He shouldered past the boys and leaned his weight on one foot, blocking the line of sight between the man and Alphonse. 

"No trouble, these uh, are my friends, Edward and Alphonse," Winry answered, rubbing her eyes, "I don't know who the leather daddy is though."

Greed made a choking noise, "What's with this generation?"

"How convenient, just the boys I was looking for," Greed wanted to wipe the smile off the smug bastard's face, "You two come back from the dead at the perfect time."

"And what exactly do you want with these boys," Greed leaned forward with crossed arms, bristling. As if he'd let the military touch one more hair on his possessions. 

The man blinked, "Ah, forgive my lack of introduction," he stuck out a hand, "Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang," he paused for a handshake that Greed didn't give. He pressed his lips together, "I heard word of two very talented alchemists in the area and came here with my partner," he chuckled, "Whoever keeps our documents might need an eye check though because we were quite shocked to find the Elrics were children worse yet, children who have been missing for months following a house fire. I'm not a believer in fate, but I might have to start now that the Elrics are right here." 

"Why do you come looking for us?" Ed asked, doing his best to keep his voice steady. 

"Well, I was hoping to recruit a couple of talents into the State Alchemy program, but seeing as you're children, I now aim to encourage the path in your future. You two could be described as prodigies for your skill, we'd be well off with people like you in the program," Mustang answered calmly though his gaze kept trying to flicker to Alphonse. 

Ed balled his fist but stood taller, "What's so good about the State Alchemy program?"

"There are many benefits. You'd be paid to do research, essentially. Your research would also be funded. You'd have access to the most expansive library on alchemy in Amestris as well."

"But you'd have to be part of the military."

Mustang huffed a light laugh with a knowing smile, "Yes, you'd become a dog of the military, but I'm sure you understand that all those benefits aren't without cost."

Winry looked between Mustang and Ed's seemingly staring contest before Mustang cleared his throat, "Right. Then, I'll fetch Hawkeye, and we'll be on our way."

Greed's hand shot out and gripped the man's arm before he could turn back into the house. 

"Yes?" He looked down at his wrist with raised eyebrows and his thumb pressed to his middle finger. 

"You've seen something you weren't supposed to, and I need to make sure you don't tell your military buddies about it," Greed had on his business voice, steady and serious. 

Mustang's eyes twitched towards Alphonse, "Ah, that's right," he looked back towards Greed, "Are you threatening me?"

"If I have to."

Mustang breathed out that same arrogant laugh, "I don't think that'll be necessary. How about you tell me what's going on here, and I'll deem whether or not it's worth the higher ups knowing," he paused, "Plus, I could take you no problem."

"I highly doubt that," Greed growled. 

"So...are we explaining things? Because I really want to know what's going on," Winry spoke up. 

\--

Winry and Pinako looked understandably shocked as Ed and Al told their story of being taken from their home, fused with animals, and put under painful tests. What surprised Ed was the they way Mustang's eyes widened and how Ed could see his mouth twist from behind his neatly folded hands. Hawkeye kept her face schooled, but her large eyes still betrayed her own horror. 

"Then Greed came for us when I was in solitary," Ed explained. 

"What a strange name," Pinako muttered. 

"Well I am a homunculus," Greed examined his nails, fighting the urge to put his feet on the dining room table where they sat. 

"Hey! I wasn't going to mention that part!" Ed hissed. 

"Well I wouldn't believe a normal man to orchestrate a breakout so big," Alphonse interjected. 

"A homunculus, really?" Mustang looked intrigued. 

Greed scoffed, "If Roa was here, I could prove it in a really cool way."

"Lobbing off your head has never been, and will never be cool," Al deadpanned. 

"So what happened then?" Hawkeye put a hand out to bring attention back to the conversation. 

"We all went to stay with Greed at his bar," Al continued, "Its really nice there."

"Yeah after Blondie taught Greed the basics of interior design," Ed mumbled, earning a light punch on the arm. 

"Anyway," Al continued, "We've been trying to figure out how to reverse the transmutation that made us this way. We've tried so many different ways."

"No luck," Ed shook his head. 

"Right. Our last resort was getting what we needed for the body composition for a lion and trying to transmute a physical form for it and untangle it from Brother."

"It didn't work," Ed added darkly. 

"Yeah...effectively, the lion is dead, and by trying to make it a body...it was like we were trying to raise the dead..."

Winry and Pinako shifted uncomfortably. 

"We were taken to this white void with a figure who took my hearing in one ear, and Brother's arm."

"And the lion?" Mustang asked. 

Ed shivered, "A disfigured, lifeless mass..."

Winry's chair screeched against the floor as she stood, "So you avoid us until you need us for _automail_?!"

"Winry," Pinako began. 

"You couldn't call or visit to tell us you were alive?! Do you know how much we've worried sick over you two?!"

"I...I was afraid," Ed looked at his shoes. 

"You were being stupid," Pinako chided, "We won't abandon you, Edward."

Ed gripped the bottom of his shirt. 

"And what of you, Alphonse?" Pinako questioned.

"I-Brother said-I don't have an excuse..." he fiddled with his fingers. 

"I apologize, but we really need to get this story," Hawkeye said. 

"That's it, then we came here," Al finished. 

Mustang held his chin, "Astounding that there's so many successful human chimera experiments."

The brothers glared. 

"And totally unethical."

The brothers sat back. 

"If the truth got out about you and the others, the military would no doubt try to reclaim their property-"

"Actually they're my pr-" 

Mustang held up a hand to stop Greed, "So, as far as the military is concerned, Hawkeye and I found the Elrics, but they are two normal boys, who have recently returned home after being lost."

"No one is going to believe these boys survived on their own that long," Pinako said. 

"But Granny, we survived on that island teacher put us on for a month, if anyone asks, we can bring that up," Al offered. 

"You still want to undo the transmutation?" Mustang asked gravely. 

Ed nodded, "More than anything."

Mustang stood, Hawkeye following his lead, "Then you know how to get more information."

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Rockbell, boys," Hawkeye nodded at them before turning to follow her superior out the door. 

The small group watched them go.

"So, with that out of the way," Pinako piped up after a few moments, "Who wants stew?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my proudest chapter but hopefully I'm doing our new characters justice.


	12. Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed begins his recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a big beefy one for you guys! Almost 4K words! And also some headcanons from yours truely.

"Greed?"

The homunculus looked up from where he played with Den. The dog seemed to take a liking to him right away. He might have to tease Dolcetto about finding a new favorite dog, "What's up uh...Winry was it?"

The girl nodded and sat down on the couch they'd set up for their visitor, "I just wanted to thank you for taking care of Ed and Al. I know I was harsh earlier, but I really am happy they're ok."

"Ah, it's no trouble," Greed paused a moment, "I take that back, they're very much trouble. Especially Ed."

Winry laughed. 

"They're good kids though."

Winry nodded in agreement, "Oh, and Greed?"

"Hm?"

"What's a homunculus anyway?" 

"Oh," Greed grinned easily, "It means I'm an artificial person, made from alchemy."

Winry's face scrunched up, "Artificial person? Ugh, alchemy is so weird."

"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense to me. I just kind of roll with it, yknow?"

The girl shrugged, "I guess. You don't seem very artificial to me though."

"Thank you," Greed laughed, "I do have body composition similar to a human, but I am about two-hundred years old, I can heal from anything, and," his arm turned black, and he offered it to Winry, "I have this Ultimate Shield I can cover myself in."

"Two-hundred?" Winry asked incredulous as she tapped her knuckles against his shield, "You certainly don't act like it. But why do you need a shield if you can heal?"

Greed snorted, "It's not like I enjoy being hurt."

"I suppose that makes sense...though I feel like nothing makes sense anymore."

The homunculus hummed beside her. 

"I just can't believe that the government would do that! To anyone! Especially kids!" Her fists bunched the material of her skirt. 

Greed leaned back on the couch, tipping his head upward, "The government is a mess, you can't trust it. They act like they're there to serve the people, but they're really just serving themselves."

"I've always hated the military, but I thought the government was at least a little better."

"Sweetheart, the military _is_ the government."

Winry frowned, "I just hate that I have to worry about them being dragged off to a lab somewhere and experimented on to death, like...like they aren't people," her fingers curled and twisted in her long ponytail. 

"Don't worry about it, I've been hiding from my family for a hundred years, I know what I'm doing. The government won't find us," Greed assured. 

Winry grinned at that, "Do you think Ed is asleep yet?"

Greed shrugged, "That's a toss up. It's early but who knows what that infection medicine you guys gave him will do."

Winry stood up and brushed her clothes down, "It was a pretty big dose, you guys did such a slipshod job of caring for it. We had to restitch that mess."

Greed put his hands out, "We got 'em here, didn't we?"

"Not in one piece," Winry teased, heading to the room the boys shared. 

\--

Ed's arm stung, but at the same time, it felt marginally better. Having Doc's stitches pulled out and replaced hurt like a bitch, but the medicine and peroxide seemed to help. 

It felt strange to be back in the room Granny reserved for them after so long, but Al seemed to have no trouble face planting on the bed and sighing contentedly. Ed would've preferred his actual bed, and he was sure Al felt the same but...they'd burnt up with the house. 

Al had stared out the window to the empty lot while Granny and Winry wrapped Ed's arm, and he knew his little brother was feeling remorse. All their books and toys were gone. All the pictures not pinned to Granny's cork board and everything of Mom's had crumpled to ash. Just more taken from them, though Ed couldn't bring himself to feel sad about it. The house felt so far away now after everything that happened. Ed felt as though he'd been four different people over his short life. The Ed that had two parents wasn't the same as the Ed with one, wasn't the same as the Ed who had none, or the Ed who had the DNA of a lion shoved and twisted into his being like a vine claiming an abandoned building. Going back to the house would just remind Ed of a version he wasn't anymore. The Rockbell house already felt strange enough. 

A knock at the door rattled him from his thoughts. Winry poked her head in. 

"Hey, Winry," Al greeted with a smile. 

She waved in response before turning to Ed and clicking the door softly closed behind her, "I just wanted to come apologize."

Ed blinked, "What for?"

Winry gawked, "What for? For hitting you and yelling at you, dummy!"

"I deserved it," Ed shrugged. 

"No you didn't! No one deserves to be hit like that," she took a breath, "I let my emotions get the best of me. I should've been happy, I should've hugged you both until you batted me away for air, but I guess all the negative emotions from the past months rushed at me and you were something I could physically take them out on. That was wrong."

"I understand, it's ok."

She shook her head, "It's not ok. I want your forgiveness, but I don't want you to brush it aside."

"Ok, I forgive you. I didn't like being slapped, but I understand why it happened and won't hold it against you."

She sighed, "Thanks, Ed."

"Yeah-"

"And I am upset you didn't come see us sooner still, but after thinking about it, I understand why you didn't. I just want you to know you guys are always going to be welcome here. I don't care if you sprout wings or grow horns, you guys are my family, and I love you. Just...just don't push us away."

Al made Winry stumble from the force with which he hugged her. His fingers bunched in her shirt, and his face buried in her shoulder. She returned the hug just as fiercely, closing her eyes and holding him tight. After a few seconds, she stretched out an arm and beckoned Ed over, fingers demanding his presence. When the older Elric obliged and joined the hug, something relaxed in Winry that had been tense since the day she and Granny ran outside to see the boys' house ablaze, "I missed you guys so much," she whispered, rocking the huddle side to side. 

"We missed you too," Al's hushed voice answered back. 

\--

The needle pulled out of Ed's arm. He shuddered at the empty syringe before his body seized. His muscles clamped down, and vaguely heard his claws emerge and scrabble at the chair's metal arms. He pulled manically at the cuff holding him there and fire spread through his veins. He felt sure his body was liquefying from the inside out and that if he opened his mouth, steam would pour out. 

Instead, only saliva spilled from his lips as he hunched over and dry heaved, stomach spasming as if it wanted to crawl up his throat. They hadn't given him food in awhile, this must've been why. His vision swam through a haze but...was that blood?

After what could've been minutes or hours, the pain abated enough for Ed to slump in the chair absolutely spent. Sweat soaked through his uniform and made is cling to his body. He breathed raggedly while he swayed in time to the scribbling of pens on clipboards. He couldn't make out what anyone said, and he didn't care. He didn't want to hear a clinical analysis of torture. He just wanted to see the damage done to his wrist, sure it would scar forever with how often restraints broke the skin 

The dream disappeared like breaking the surface of water and Ed gasped, shutting his eyes as quickly as he opened them. 

He shook and shivered. The wet rag on his forehead dripped water down his cheeks the way his eyes wouldn't. He felt simultaneously like molten lava and ridged ice. His left fingers curled in the fabric of his sheets to avoid clawing at his shoulder and the foreign throbbing there. A shuffling to his side made him tense and attempt to inch towards the wall. 

"Hey, hey, chillax, you're ok, short stack."

Sweet relief followed some rummaging, and Ed sighed, becoming goo in the stiff bed. It still hurt, but Ed could manage this. 

"Better?"

Ed nodded, prying his eyes open to stare up at the man fiddling with an IV. 

"Good. You know where you are?"

Ed blinked a few times to clear his mind, shaking the lab's cobwebs away, "...Granny's?"

"Uh-huh, and who am I?"

"Grabby Hands McGee."

"I'll accept that answer."

Ed watched Greed settle back in the arm chair by his bed, a magazine in his lap, "What happened?"

"You got the port for your automail installed a couple days ago," he answered simply. 

"I've been asleep for a couple days?"

Greed shrugged, "More or less. We've been taking turns watching you, and I think this is the most lucid you've been."

Ed let out a long breath. 

"Old lady says you're tough as nails, though. She says you took the procedure better than any grown man she's worked on," Greed seemed impressed. 

"I'm no stranger to pain."

"Mm."

"Where's Al?"

"Probably eating dinner with everyone else. You want me to go get him?"

Ed shook his head, "Nah, that's ok, I don't wanna bother him."

"I don't think you'd be a bother to him, but alright."

A comfortable silence stretched on, only broken by Greed flipping the magazine's pages. Eventually, Ed became antsy. He fidgeted with his medical gown _not a uniform not a uniform_ for a few minutes before exhaling loudly and slinging his arm over his eyes. 

"Hey, Greed?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you hate your family?" 

"C'mon kid, I told you guys to forget about that."

"Pleaaaase?" Ed whined, truly sounding like an eleven year old. 

Greed pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine, but it'll cost ya."

"What?" Ed huffed. 

"You gotta tell me why you hate your old man."

"Deal," Ed grumbled, "Mine's easy so I'll start. That bastard was always pretty distant, always locked up in his study, but I guess he got sick of us eventually and walked out when me and Al were really little. He just looked at us over his shoulder with no emotion and walked out! And maybe he didn't want me or Al, whatever, but how could he leave Mom? She was the most wonderful woman in the world, I bet he wouldn't even care that she's dead," bitterness dripped from Ed's words, his hand curled in a shaking fist. 

Greed whistled low, "Wow, what an asshole."

"Understatement of the year," Ed growled. 

"I was thinking you just had some early onset teenage angst, but that's reasonable."

"Ok, now your end of the bargain."

Greed rubbed his chin, "I dunno, I'm not known for giving people things..."

"Shut up, you gave like fifty people food, jobs, and a place to stay," Ed rolled his eyes under his arm, "And you don't lie, so spill."

Greed laughed, "You got me kid, alright. So my pops made us all from his own flaws. I think he said something about purging his sins or something? I dunno, I didn't pay much attention to him. I didn't like being his lackey, y'know? I wanted so much more than following his orders. I certainly didn't want to be under his thumb, I much prefer having people under mine, so I left."

Ed lifted his arm to look at Greed through one eye, "Really? That's it?"

Greed shrugged, "More or less. I mean I guess he considered me a 'problem child' or something. He was always tightening my leash and taking his anger out on me. I think even my breathing could offend him some days. He didn't treat my siblings that way," Greed scoffed, "I deserved better, so I found better. Maybe he'd be nicer if he made a homunculus for Wrath already and put all his fury in there instead on me. It has been a hundred years though, maybe he has," Greed scratched the back of his head. 

"So you're all named after sins then?" Ed asked. 

"Yup! Daddy's little sins. Taken from his being so he could have perfectly flawed ankle biters."

"What about them? Why do you hate your siblings?"

Greed gestured vaguely, "I don't know if I'd say I _hate_ any of them, except maybe Pride, but they just weren't worth staying with Father. They're all so loyal anyway. They'd probably kill me or something if we ever crossed paths."

"Oh...can you tell me about them?" 

"Eh, sure," Greed ran a hand through his hair, "So the oldest is Pride, and he's a smug little shithead, go figure. I don't think any of us really liked him that much, after all Pops treated his first born special. Pride could do no wrong in his eyes. I couldn't ever give him what he deserves because Father always made excuses for him or said I was lying! Me!" Greed sneered, "And he always got what he wanted. He's creepy too."

"Wow," Ed interjected. 

"Yeah. Then there's Lust, my older sister. She's my favorite sibling probably. She's pretty reserved and doesn't tend to tease or make jabs at people. Anytime she did, it was probably those times we were working together in public and judging people in town," Greed laughed, "We used to have this competition over who could get more phone numbers or addresses before there were phones because of course I wanted to beat her at her own game, and she's only hot because she's Lust, I come by it honestly," he sighed, "I never did beat her, but it's easier for a girl to get numbers anyway, I think. She's smart too, sometimes I think Father gave her his brains too by accident when he made her. She's pretty nurturing too if you get past her cold exterior. Of all my siblings, I think I could've gotten her to rebel with me, if only she didn't have that strange loyalty. It's not like she had any reason to be devout to the man who basically put her in charge of her younger siblings like some kind of mom and any other 'womanly' duties like keeping the place clean."

"She seems nice."

"Relatively speaking. She'd still run you through if you bugged her, though. Then there's me, the best one in the family. After me, there's Envy, the worst one in the family."

Ed laughed at that. 

"They were ok at first. I think they really looked up to me at first, their cool older brother. But I guess we all play into our namesakes somehow. Envy has a really crass and tacky sense of style. It's bold and I can respect that, but I think they've been trying to emulate my look, but they just can't, and I think they're jealous of my confidence and aesthetic. I don't blame them though, I'm sure plenty of people are."

Ed snorted.

"And it's not even a matter of money or finding the right thing, they can shapeshift, but choose to look like that," Greed snickered, "We used to get into a lot of petty fights. I think that's what normal siblings do, but sometimes I wonder if Envy really hated me. I don't care either way, of course. I don't need that little lizard anyway. I guess you couldn't really call our fights petty though since we'd be stabbing each other and stuff. Little shit was always stealing my stuff. Lust had to break up our fights a lot because Pride didn't care, Gluttony was too scared, and Sloth was never really that aware.

"Speaking of Sloth, there's not much to say. Unsurprisingly, he didn't do much, and he was drab to talk to. He'd always go on with life's a pain this, life's a pain that. What a boring downer, am I right?"

Ed waved his hand noncommittally. 

"Then there's Gluttony, the baby of the family. He's a little slob who ate my favorite boots once. He acts like a toddler. He was sixty when I left but I bet you he still clings to Lust's skirt when Envy gets pissy and begs her for snacks. I think Father forgot to give him brains," Greed shook his head exasperated, "He means well though. He always tried to cheer Sloth up or get Pride to play with him no matter how much Pride threatened him. If he didn't eat trespassers, I'd say he was a harmless kid.

"So that's everyone, what do you-" Greed looked over and saw Ed snoring softly. He smiled to himself and opened his magazine as quietly as possible. 

\--

Ed flexed his fingers experimentally. It was uncanny how natural it felt. He formed a fist and punched the air in front of him. 

"So how's it feel?" Winry asked. 

"Feels great," Ed nodded, "Not quite like the real thing, but smooth and easy," his shoulder still hurt and tingled from installation, but he imagined he'd forget about the foreignness of the metal arm in no time. 

He ran his fingers over the bed sheets, "I can't really feel though."

"Unfortunately automail isn't advanced enough for textures or temperature yet, but you can still feel pressure so you know when you're touching something."

Greed and Al watched with awe and interest from side of the bed as Ed performed exercises at Granny's request. 

"That's really cool," Greed examined the arm closely from a squat, "Much cooler than normal arms."

"Sure, if you like intensive recovery, aches, phantom pain, having to get regular tune ups, having to care for the joints and prevent rust, and not being able to handle extreme weather," Granny blew a smoke ring into the air, voice dry. 

"Oh." Greed crossed his arms. 

"I can't believe you really built this Winry," Al beamed at her. 

She put her hands on her hips and puffed her chest, "Well I did get some help from Granny, but thank you, Al." 

"Of course she made it, only a gearhead like her could," Ed laughed at her glare and her muttered 'alchemy freak.'

"So uh, is Risembool that backwater town somehow crawling with prodigies, or what?" Greed tilted his head. 

"Nah, just this corner of town," Ed smirked. 

"Unless you count roping," Al added. 

"Yeah, Johnny Winkler sure is a boy wonder," Winry laughed. 

"Except that time he got dragged through the dirt while mutton busting," Al pointed out, the other kids bursting out laughing with him. 

After the giggling died down, Ed rolled his shoulder and turned to Granny and Winry, "So uh, how long until I'm in tip top shape?"

"Three years," Granny answered. 

"Wh- _THREE YEARS?!_ " Ed sputtered. 

"Automail recovery isn't easy, kiddo," she at least looked a little sympathetic. 

"Psh, whatever, I'll do it in one," Ed stiffly crossed his arms. 

"And why would you want to do that?"

"I'm not going to wait three years to undo what's been done to us."

"Can't you do your research while you're healing?" Winry raised a brow. 

Ed shook his head, "I've exhausted my resources. The old books in the house have burned, Al and I have scoured through the books in the south libraries, we even had books from other ones sent to the local library in Dublith."

"Ok, so what're you going to do?"

"I'm going to take that Mustang guy up on his offer."

A few gasps followed Ed's statement. 

Greed made a choking noise, "Sorry, did you forget who did this to you in the first place? And now you want to let the military put you on their leash? Do you know what would happen if they ever found out? It's bad enough that asshole and his lackey know already, but you want to put yourself in the line of fire?"

"They won't find out-"

"They'd lock you away forever, maybe even weed out information from you like where Al or the others are-"

"I'd never give Al away, and this is a ridiculous scenario anyway, since I won't get caught," Ed spat back. 

"You think the others would approve? You think Dol or Martel would agree with you? Bido? Roa?"

"I don't need their approval! And I'm doing this for them too!" Ed leaned towards Greed, jaw tight. 

"You're doing this because _you_ can't take being a chimera."

"I'm doing it because Al can't go anywhere!" Ed shouted. 

"Brother-"

"He has a place where he's safe!" Greed snapped back. 

"You just don't want me to go because _you_ can't stand to loose one of your 'possessions,'" Ed exaggerated the last word with an eye roll. 

"GUYS!" Al yelled. 

"WHAT?!" Greed and Ed answered. 

"Stop fighting, and stop talking about me like I'm not here!"

Ed's hands dropped to his side, "Oh...sorry, Al."

"Whatever, just discuss this like mature people."

Ed sighed and rubbed his flesh hand over his face, "You're right, Al."

"I trust your ability to keep your secret from the military, but I'm not sure this is all worth selling your soul to the military-"

"Al, you're worth-"

The boy held up a finger, "Let me finish, Ed. You're placing a lot on a gamble. We don't know if their resources will give us the answers we need to fix this, we don't even know if it's possible. You'd be giving them so much without any guarantee. Plus I think it's important to note that I'm pretty sure Mustang was suggesting you join when you're of age, not tomorrow." 

"The military is dangerous, Ed," Granny cut in, "You'd have to do anything they asked, and a lot of that means putting yourself at risk."

Ed chewed his lip, seeing the pain of a mother who's lost a son. He glanced at Winry. Her bangs covered her face as she looked at the floor, but Ed could tell how upset she was by the fists shaking at her side. 

"I won't try and change your mind, Ed," Granny continued, "I just want you to know what you're doing and think about it."

Ed looked down at his hands in his lap, "I have thought about it. A lot. Ever since Mustang left."

Granny tapped her pipe against the bedpost, "If you're sure, Ed."

"I am sure. I know it won't be easy, but nothing has been, what's another challenge to live through? I'm just there until I can fix us and then I'm requesting discharge or whatever. All they are is a tool for me."

"You better be safe Ed," Winry's voice was quiet, "And you better not mess up my automail," she added with more force. 

"Sure, I'll do my best."

"Brother?" Al piped up. 

"Yeah?"

"You don't have to do this for me. I want you to be safe."

Ed laughed softly, "You know I'll always be throwing myself into trouble and danger, might as well do it for a purpose, right?" He reached out and ruffled his brother's hair with his left hand. 

Al just smiled sadly, he knew Ed's words to be true. 

Greed blew out a puff of air, "I guess there's no stopping you."

"No, not really, sorry Greed."

Greed stood from where he'd crouched down, and stretched his back, "Well, I guess I better help you be the best damn thing the military's ever seen. At least for a little while. I'm not going to stay a whole year, kid."

"Thanks, Greed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a lot of notes for this one:  
> -I don't like Winry hitting Ed for comedy, but I feel like she would've in the last chapter, but I wanted her to apologize for once  
> -I wish some of the homunculi and their relationships had been explored more, so here's a little taste of how I see them  
> -Browyn811, I'm sorry sweetie, you're gonna have to trust me on the military thing. It's been in the plans since the start and I do have a plan so just stick with me djgckgdhjs


	13. Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed takes on the State Alchemy exam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say last chapter was beefy? Well this one is 5k! It was also pretty fun to write so I hope you enjoy it!

"Go ahead and hit me!"

"Are you sure?" Ed asked. His metal fist shook, still not completely in tune with his nerves and brain. 

"Yeah, its fine!" Greed moved into a casual battle stance, "I'll just shield wherever your right hand is aimed and if I miss? That's ok you still can't really hurt me."

"Um...ok," Ed readied himself as well, toes curling in the grass. 

"Just don't go for my face ok?"

"You're not going to shield it?"

Greed held an L to the bottom of his chin, "And cover these good looks?"

Ed rolled his eyes and sprung into action at Greed's count. 

The man blocked Ed's arm easily, either batting it away or blocking it with his shield. He knew the kid could do better. After all, he did see the him almost take down a man twice his size one on one when a grunt from a weapon dealer had tried to sneak into the Nest. But his right fist shook as he sparred, and Greed could understand he was still healing, even if he had no experience with process of recovery. 

What he lacked in finesse, he made up for with resilience which seemed more like the point anyway. Greed saw that determined light in Ed's eyes. It was the same light that he'd caught a glimpse of during their first meeting before the kid had impaled him. It had never left his eyes. Sometimes it flared, but mostly it simmered. After losing his arm, his eyes had dulled to embers, but the spark had never died. Now it burned fiercely with the goal of recovery and even stronger resolve to find a way to cure their chimera plight. The kid was hardheaded and stubborn. He seemed to live off goals and thrive in challenge. If Greed told him to clean ten tables in ten minutes, he'd clean fifteen. 

The idea of Ed walking into the jaws of the organization that had hurt him so severely put Greed on edge. He'd never go back to Father, he'd rather die, so why would Ed even consider his choice? It only took looking into the kid's eyes to understand. Greed saw the same eyes in his mirror before leaving his family and in the reflection of the bar's countertop after he'd cleaned it for the first time. Ed wanted. He wanted to fix himself and the others, and he wanted it bad. His eyes blazed with purpose and willpower, but they also burned with desire, and Greed understood that, perhaps more than anyone else. He understood when Ed wanted something, he could not be swayed. 

Suddenly Ed jumped up, and before Greed could react, the kid had wrapped his legs around Greed's neck. His momentum swung him around, throwing Greed off balance and sending him crashing into the ground. After a dazed moment, he sat up with a grunt, healing energy cracking around his head. 

"Smooth move kid," he commended, taking Ed's offered hand and pulling himself to his feet, "Be mindful of that though, you could put someone in the hospital for that."

"I'm aware," Ed puffed out his chest. 

Greed ruffled Ed’s hair and took the opportunity to playfully shove the kid, "Also, I thought we were supposed to be strengthening your arm, what was that?"

"Me, winning," Ed grinned. 

"Hey boys, smile!" Winry ran out on to the back porch waving a camera around. 

Ed stood triumphantly, flexing his right arm, but glared at Greed when he weighed his elbow on Ed's head like some kind of armrest. 

"Perfect!" Winry laughed. 

"What?!" Ed squeaked, "That's an awful picture!"

"Too bad I only have film for one photo!" Winry jeered, her tone indicating a lie. 

"What's the picture for?" Greed asked over Ed's heated rambling. 

"Granny likes to get pictures of success stories to show off to potential customers, and judging by the rate of Ed's recovery, he'll be a good draw for patrons," Winry explained, shaking the film her camera spit out. 

"Oh so I'm advertising boy now?" Ed put his hands on his hips. 

"It's called running a business Ed, now come inside, Al made lemonade."

\--

"Welcome back, boss!" Dolcetto greeted as Greed sauntered up to his bar, "How's the kid?"

"Doing pretty good. If he keeps going at this rate, he'll be back to tip top shape in a few months."

Dolcetto balked, "But you haven't even been gone for that long-"

"Of course not, I couldn't stay a whole year, I've got a business to run-"

"Doesn't it take at least three years or something for automail to heal?" 

Greed shrugged, "Yeah, but this is Ed we're talking about."

"I guess you're right," Dolcetto chuckled. 

"Go switch out with Ulchi, I'm pulling a meeting, and I want you there," Greed patted Dolcetto's shoulder and headed towards the bar. 

"Did something happen?" 

"Nah, it's just about Ed," Greed walked inside. 

"What did he do this time?" Dol muttered under his breath. 

"How's my bar?" Greed called jovially as he walked in, "I see you guys didn't burn the place down while I was gone, so that's a good sign."

A chorus of welcomes filled the room at the homunculus's entrance. The working girls draped themselves over his arms, babbling about how much they missed him, Roa called out a hearty, "all good boss," and Martel pressed a glass of his favorite drink into his hand. Greed sighed. 

It was good to be home. 

\--

"What is he, nuts?!" Dolcetto slammed his fist on the table. 

Greed spun his bottle by the neck, "Maybe."

"Doesn't he know where the military got us?" Martel crossed her long arms and blew at the hair in her eyes. 

"Of course he does," Roa answered her, calm among the commotion in the room. 

Bido looked at the ground and played with his tail. 

"Why didn't you stop him Greed?" Someone asked. 

Greed rested his elbow on the table, and his chin on his palm. He sighed. He expected protest but not people out of their seats raving, "Out of everyone in that house, I tried to stop him the most."

The room quieted and all eyes went to Greed as he addressed them. 

"I don't like it either, but you all know Ed," the room nodded, "You know how he is. He's stubborn. He sets him mind on something and unless you tie him up, you're powerless to stop him. I could trap him and lock his four foot nothing ass up, but I think he'd be miserable to be around if I did that. I don't want the headaches, and more importantly, I want you all to be happy to be here. I certainly wouldn't want to be resented by Ed for stopping him."

The room considered this for a moment before Dolcetto growled and threw his hands up, "Then he can resent me, and I'll stop him!"

"Dolcetto," Roa's voice was firm and even, "Ed may be young, but he's not stupid. He know's the risks and he knows where he came from," his eyes shifted to Martel momentarily. "Even if we did hold him down, he'd find a way to squirm free. We can’t stop him. We can only trust him and support him. Perhaps he isn't thinking rationally, but he is thinking ambitiously."

"Ah, thank you Roa, you always know what to say," Greed watched Dolcetto take his seat. 

"How can you be so calm, Roa?" Martel hissed. 

"Because it's not worth getting angry about," it was then that Greed noticed the ox's tense shoulders and ridged jaw, "I hate it as much as you do. The idea of him being so close to those people pains me and will keep me awake at night, but if I want Ed to be safe, then the best I can do is help him as much as possible, so I'm going to respect him and be proud of him even if it hurts me to do so. Yelling won't make it any better."

Greed remembered talking to Roa late one night over drinks about the man's wife who he could not bare to see after everything that happened. He said it'd only hurt her to show up from the dead and that he wasn't the same man. It'd be better for her to move on. He also talked about how the two of them had dreamed of starting a family, but found his wife couldn't after many failed attempts. They'd been trying to adopt when Roa was called away. He'd had such a dreamy look in his eyes as he talked about wanting a little girl to show how to read, push on a swing, and do his best to braid her hair with his thick fingers. 

Greed thought Roa would make a good dad. 

\--

"Have a safe trip boys!" Winry called from the balcony, waving with Granny. 

"Yeah, yeah," Ed waved the back of his hand. 

"We will!" Al waved back. 

He and Ed had plenty of time to get to the train station. They'd take the train to Central, drop Ed off, and then Al would ride back to Dublith. Al had assured his brother he'd be fine on his own for that time and called him a hypocrite for worrying about a train ride when his plans were far more dangerous. Still, the anxiety crept through Ed and distracted him so much, his foot missed the porch step and he went tumbling. 

"Brother, watch out!" Al cried. 

There was a slapping sound, a flash of light, and then Ed was cradled above the ground in a fist of dirt. He spat out a tuft of grass, looking down at his brother who stared at his hands like they weren't his. 

"What the? Al, what happened?" Ed struggled in the dirt fist. 

"You ok?" Winry called. 

Ed nodded. 

"I don't know..." Al continued to look at his hands, "I was worried you'd get hurt, and I clapped, and that happened."

Ed blinked, "What like teacher? Can you make it unhappen?"

"Uhhh," Al clapped again and the hand fell apart. 

Ed landed with a grunt and tried dusting himself off. So much for looking presentable, "That's really amazing, Al!"

"Why don't you try, brother?" 

"Um, ok," he raised his hands. 

"Make something cool!"

Ed smirked, "Alright," he clapped, and to his surprise, light cackled around his hand and the metal of his arm reformed into a blade. He held it up and inspected it, "Wow."

Then the images came back. Truth had seemed intrigued by him, said they didn't usually see people in their domain for Ed's reason, said they weren't sure it counted but shrugged anyway as Ed was dragged through the giant doorway that shoved information in his brain until he felt he'd drown in it. The handclap technique had been there, he must have just forgotten in the aftermath. 

"EDWARD!" Winry' shrill voice broke him from his thoughts, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY AUTOMAIL?!? DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD I WORKED ON THAT?!"

Ed clapped again, and the arm returned to its original state, "See? No harm done!"

Winry huffed, "Whatever, alchemy freak!"

Ed shifted his gaze to Al, "So you saw it?"

Al nodded, chewing on his lip. 

"Hm...well I'm definitely going to use this for the exam, come on, Al, let's not be late!"

\--

"Hey boss, here's the list of all the people taking the exam."

Roy looked up from his impossibly high stack of paperwork, "Oh thank you, Havoc."

"Yeah sure," Havoc reached into his pocket for his lighter to ignite the unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth. 

Roy looked over the list and took a sip from the commissary's water thin coffee. Said coffee almost sprayed all over the page as he caught sight of Edward Elric's name. 

"Boss?!" Havoc fumbled at the colonel's half choke half snort sound. His lighter bounced between his hands as he tried to catch it. 

Roy leaned back in his chair, hand over his eyes, and a sigh escaping his lips, "That damn kid..."

"What's the big deal?" Havoc tried to lean around the paper. 

"You remember those boys from Risembool?"

"Yeah, the fuck up from the records department?"

Roy nodded, "The older one, Edward, is on this list," he pointed and turned the paper. 

Havoc's cigarette fell onto Roy's desk, "What?! Isn't he like six?!"

"Probably twelve by now."

"Still! Aren't there rules against this or something?!"

Roy rubbed his chin, "If there were, he wouldn't have his name on here," he chuckled, "Well he definitely has spunk."

"I think you're confusing spunk with insanity," Havoc shook his head, "Does a kid even have money for a hotel room to stay during the exam?"

“He's probably winging it, judging from our meeting. I'll see if Hughes will take him in if he doesn't."

Havoc finally lit his cigarette, “Oh he’d jump at the chance to host a guest.”

—

“Mister Elric?”

Ed looked up at the two men in the doorway. 

“You’re up.”

Ed stood up from the chair, his boots clacking against the floor. He smoothed his clothes down and nodded before following the men into the examination room. The large room was bare save for box seats above the examination floor where he spotted Mustang looking smug as ever. The bastard had the audacity to wink. 

At the front of the room, under a tapestry of Amestris’s flag, sat a table with three men at it, judges, and a few guards standing nearby. One of the judges stood with hands behind his back, carrying an air of importance. 

“Ah, would that be a steel prosthetic?” The man asked. 

Ed toyed with his wrist, “Got it in a farming accident a while back.” 

“That’s very unfortunate, young man.”

Ed made a humming sound and turned to one of the men still flanking him, “Who’s he?”

The man stiffened and sputtered, “You idiot, that’s His Excellency, Fuhrer King Bradley.”

Ed made a humming sound and turned back to the one eyed man. So this was King Bradley, the man in charge. He probably knew about the labs, probably didn’t care about the suffering that went on down there or the mutilation his brother and others faced...asshole. His fists balled tight. 

“Thank you, you may begin the exam,” Bradley announced. 

“Do you need something to draw a transmutation circle with?” One of the men asked. 

“That’s ok, I got it,” or at least Ed hoped he did. He’d spent the train ride with Al practicing the clapping technique until Ed felt mostly confident he could perform it for the exam. 

He took a deep breath, clapped his hands together, and pressed them to the floor. Thankfully, a circle of light appeared around him and he began to pull a spear from the ground. It looked like one he used to draw as a little kid. Al would tease him for it, but based on the chorus of gasps in the room, no one thought it was tacky. 

“My, that’s quite something, isn’t it?” Bradley almost seemed impressed. 

Ed didn’t say anything as his feet moved thoughtlessly forward. He stopped just before the blade touched Bradley, but in that moment he wouldn’t mind closing the distance. Guns clicked near his head, and for a brief moment Ed worried he’d gone to far. This wasn’t his plan going in, but his body channeled his anger before his brain did. 

In the corner of his eye he could see the men in the box seats leaning on the railing with horror on their faces, except Mustang, who, at worst, looked slightly miffed. Interesting. 

Ed saw Bradley’s hand held up to halt his men, “You know, there are some people out there that might see this as a good way to assassinate a VIP. In the future you might want to rethink the way you conduct these examinations.”

Bradley waved his men off, “That’s good,” he said cheerfully, “You clearly have nerves made of steel, young man, but I’d say you still have much to learn about the world,” he began to walk off. 

Ed pouted at the man for a moment before staring shocked at his spear as it broke in half. When had Bradley even pulled his sword?!

“You put on quite the show, my naive, young alchemist. Good luck with the rest of your exam!” He laughed, exiting the room. 

“Mister Elric, its time for the written portion,” one of the men who brought him in said begrudgingly. 

Ed let the remaining portion of his spear fall on the ground as he followed out the exit. 

—

“Can you believe that, Hawkeye? He actually pulled a weapon on the Fuhrer,” Roy shook his head with a smirk. 

“No sir,” Hawkeye responded. 

“He’s certainly an interesting kid.”

“Do you think he’ll pass?” 

Roy shrugged, “He didn’t even need a transmutation circle, and Bradley seemed pretty amused by him, and if he’s this impressive at his age, I have no doubts about it. Unless his age hinders him.”

“He certainly seems talented.”

“If he passes, I’m planning on putting an immediate request for him to be under my command,” Roy looked at his lieutenant, “What do you think?”

“I don’t approve the idea of a child in the military, but if it was known that you commanded the youngest State Alchemist who also doesn’t need a circle, you might get quite the leg up and publicity you need,” Hawkeye reflected. 

Roy nodded, “Yes, I was thinking that as well. He’d certainly give me a boost.”

“And he already knows you, sir.”

As if on cue, Ed appeared across the courtyard, “Oh hey, lieutenant colonel,” he called as he neared. 

“Actually, I’m a colonel now,” Roy gestures to the stars on his shoulder proudly.

“Oh,” Ed shrugged, “And hi, Hawkeye.”

“Hello, Edward,” she gave him a small smile, “How’s the arm?”

He punched forward with a grin, “My mechanic is a genius.”

“That’s good to hear, how do you think the written portion went?” Roy asked. 

Ed shoved his hands in his pockets, “Pff, piece of cake. My brother and I could’ve answered those questions in our sleep. If I don’t get accepted, they’re missing out.”

“You did point a weapon at the country’s leader.”

Ed laughed nervously, “Well I wasn’t wrong about security, and he didn’t seem too bothered by it.”

“Probably because he wasn’t worried about a pipsqueak like you taking him out.”

“Hey! Who are you calling a tiny bug that escapes the wrath of a shoe because he's so small that he fits in the groove and can’t get squashed?!” Ed ranted. 

“I literally never said any of that,” Roy blinked. Maybe he didn’t want this kid under his command. 

“Plus it’s not like you seemed all that concerned. You just sat there.”

“Do you have a place to stay while you’re in Central?” Hawkeye changed the subject. 

“Oh, I uh, was going to figure that out later.”

“I have a friend who lives here and would be more than happy to let you stay with him,” Roy supplied, “Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, he’s a nice guy. Do you like kids?”

Ed shrugged, “Sure.”

“His wife recently had a baby, so just a heads up.” 

Ed smiled, “That’s fine, babies are cute,” he blinked, “But are you sure it’s really ok for me to intrude on this guy’s family?”

“Don’t worry, he loves company. He loves to show off his family too, so I’m sure he’s glad for the chance,” Roy laughed to himself, “You got somewhere to be, or do you want to go over there now?” 

“I don’t know where anything in the big city is anyway, so I don’t have anything better to do.”

“Ok, we can give you a ride,” Roy pointed a thumb towards where he’d last seen the car. 

“I like what you’ve done with your hair,” Ed said to Hawkeye once they group headed out, “You’ve grown it out.”

“So have you,” she responded kindly, “It suits you.”

The kid touched his braid unconsciously, “Heh. Thanks.”

—

“Ah! You must be Ed!” The man at door greeted enthusiastically and grabbed Ed’s hand for a shake, “Roy’s told me so much about you!”

“Only good things I hope,” he side eyed the colonel suspiciously, “You must be Hughes.”

“That’s me,” he beamed, “I bet you did great on the exam.”

“He pointed a spear at the Fuhrer,” Mustang jeered. 

“Sounds like the perfect guy for your unit, huh Roy?” 

Mustang sputtered. 

Hughes just laughed, “Thanks for dropping him off,” he turned to Ed, “Why don’t you come inside? We’ll get you settled.”

Ed walked through the threshold as Hughes said goodbye to his friends. Looking around, Ed could tell the house was well lived in. Little odds and ends gave it an identity and probably had stories like the chip in baseboard, or the barely visible scribbles on the wall. The place also exuded warmth and love from the general atmosphere to the many photos hanging on the walls. 

“Come on, Ed, I’ll show you the guest room,” Hughes led the way and Ed immediately felt intimidated by his cheer and kindness. 

“So what makes a kid like you want to join the military?” The man asked while they walked up the stairs. 

“I’ve got a promise to keep to my younger brother, Alphonse,” Ed answered vaguely.

“Well I hope it’s a good promise,” Ed appreciated his not asking, “I couldn’t imagine my little Elicia joining the military!”

“Probably because she’s a baby, Maes,” a woman who Ed assumed to be Mrs. Hughes stood in the hall at the end of the stairs with a baby in her arms. 

“And what a cute baby she is!” Maes kissed Elicia on the head before kissing his wife. 

Ed smiled at the sweet display though his heart twisted. 

“Edward, this is my wife, Gracia, and our daughter, Elicia,” Hughes put his arm around Gracia’s shoulders, “Gracia, this is Edward Elric.”

She managed to wiggle an arm free to hold out to Ed, “It’s nice to meet you, Edward.”

He took the offered hand and shook, “Just Ed’s fine.”

Just then, Elicia seemed to notice Ed’s presence and began to cry and turn her face into her mother’s chest. Ed backed away immediately. 

Gracia bounced the girl and tried to silence her with coos, “I’m sorry, Ed, she’s usually not like this.”

“That’s ok, I’ll just go settle myself in, I know I’m a pretty strange stranger,” he laughed nervously, figuring Elicia could tell something wasn’t right with him. 

“Sure, it’s just down here,” Hughes led the rest of the way and showed Ed to a mostly barren room that still somehow managed to have a picture of the family on the nightstand, “Take your time, supper still won’t be for a little while.”

“Ok, thank you again for this.”

“No problem,” Hughes walked towards the door, “If you need anything, just ask.”

“Alright...actually, Mr. Hughes?” Ed called before the man disappeared completely.

“Hm?”

“Do you have a phone I could use? My brother traveled on the train alone and I want to make sure he had a safe trip.”

“Oh sure, I’ll show you.”

—

A few days later, Mustang called Ed to his temporary office in Central. Ed couldn’t really guess why Mustang in particular had called. Hopefully he’d hear his results, but he’d figure that information would come from a proctor. 

Inside the office, Mustang sat at his desk reading some documents, “Oh Edward, there you are, this is for you,” he held some the papers out, voice self-congratulatory. 

Ed went to grab the papers, but Mustang pulled them back, “Why don’t you sit back, and I’ll read them. You’re just a kid, after all.”

Ed bristled, “I CAN READ, YOU BASTARD.”

Mustang laughed, “You’ll need to reign that mouth in,” he pushed forward a white box and lifted the lid, inside sat a silver pocket watch, and Ed’s eyes lit up, “This watch serves as a symbol that proves your State title. Inside this envelope,” he shook the thing lightly, “is your certificate of appointment,” he ripped it open, though Ed was sure that counted as reading someone else’s mail and pulled a page out, skimming it, “Oh, and it would seem our Fuhrer is not without a certain sense of irony.”

“Why’s that?” Ed asked trying to contain his excitement over his approval. 

Mustang held the paper out again, “Read for yourself. Congratulations, you’ve just officially become a dog of the military,” Mustang raised an eyebrow, “Or should I say cat?”

“Haha, very funny,” Ed snatched the certificate, and read to himself. The certificate was signed and penned by King Bradley himself, appointing Ed to State Alchemist under the title “Fullmetal.”

Ed looked up at Mustang, who had his chin rested on folded fingers, “‘Fullmetal?’”

“Correct, along with their commissions, State Alchemists are granted a unique code name. I’d’ve given you something more ironic, but from here on, you’ll be known as the Fullmetal Alchemist.”

Ed grinned wickedly, “I like it. Intimidating, I think it’ll suit me well.”

“Fantastic,” Mustang waved the rest of the envelope’s contents, “This is paperwork for documenting your information, next of kin, contact information, and the like. As your new commanding officer, I expect it on my desk tomorrow morning at 0800 hours, now get out of here and celebrate or something. We can talk about details later, but I have a date,” Mustang shrugged on his coat and passed Ed the papers as he made to exit, “See you tomorrow, Fullmetal.”

—

Ed waited at Hughes’s door, spinning his watch and grinning like an idiot. 

“Hello Ed,” Gracia greeted, “Oh! You got the job did you?” She let him inside. 

“Yup! You’re looking at the Fullmetal Alchemist!” He stood proudly in the entryway, hands on hips, chest out. 

“Congrats, Ed,” Hughes called from the living room where he sat with a book and his daughter, “Did Roy manage to snatch you up for his team?”

Ed sighed, “Yeah, and I’m sure many headaches will be born of it.”

Hughes laughed at that, “Gracia, I think you should make one of your world famous pies to celebrate, don’t you think?”

“I think that’s a lovely idea, do you like pie, Ed?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, “Of course, but you don’t have to-“

“Don’t you worry a thing about it,” she smiled and patted his head, “It’s only fitting the youngest State Alchemist in history have something special.”

“Well it would certainly be more special than this paper work,” Ed groaned, “Especially since I have to write with my left...” he flexed his metal fingers. 

“Then I suppose you better hop to it, huh?” Hughes asked. 

“Yeah, but after I make some calls,” Ed couldn’t wait to call his family. He knew Granny and Winry didn’t approve, but he knew they’d be as supportive as possible, and they deserved to know anyway. Al didn’t seem too wild about the idea, but he shared everything with his brother. The chimeras probably hated him for it, even if Blondie had been nice when he called for his brother. Greed didn’t like the idea, but he’d been very helpful and had told Ed he better “kick ass” before he left for Dublith. 

“Rockbell Automail, how can I help you?” Winery’s cheerful voice answered the phone. 

“Hey Win,” Ed toyed with the phone’s cord.

“Oh, Ed! This better be about the test and not you messing up your automail with that clapping trick!” 

He could practically hear her dramatically shaking her fist, “No, no, it works perfectly, it’s about the exam. I passed.”

“Congrats, Ed, as if there was any doubt,” he heard faraway shouting on the phone. It sounded vaguely like a regurgitation of what he’d just told her, so he assumed she was telling Granny, “So, what now?”

“A bunch of paperwork, then that Mustang guy is going to tell me what to do, I’ll keep you guys posted.”

“Please do, and make sure you call or visit if anything feels off or bad with your arm.”

“Yeah of course-“

“On second, Ed,” there was a muffled ‘what?’ and then she was back, “Granny says she’s breaking out her good tobacco, and to make sure you don’t make her waste it by getting into trouble or something like that.”

“Tell that old bat I’m always getting into trouble,” Ed stuck his tongue out even if Winry couldn’t see it. 

“Not too much I hope, seriously Ed, please be careful,” Winry’s voice took on a serious tone. 

“I’ll do my best.”

“Ok, I’ll talk to you later?”

“Yeah.”

“Bye Ed, say hi to Al or Greed if you see them for me.”

“Will do, bye Winry.”

Ed hung up the phone and immediately picked it up again to call the Nest. 

—

“Devil’s Nest, whatcha drinkin’?” Martel picked up the ringing phone.

“A tall glass of victory!” Ed’s grating boy voice called. 

“That so?”

“You bet!”

“Ok, hang on,” she put her hand on the receiver and yelled, “ED’S ON THE PHONE, GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE!”

Silence filled the bar as everyone crowded around the phone near the countertop. The door to the bedrooms creaked open, the non-passing chimeras listening in the doorway, though Al rushed into the crowd quick as a whip. Even Dolcetto poked his head in. 

Greed snatched the phone up, “Hey, kid, what’s the word?”

Everyone leaned in, straining to hear Ed respond with, “You’re on the phone with the soon to be, World Famous Fullmetal Alchemist!”

A chorus of claps and celebratory whoops followed the statement. People called out congratulations and compliments to Ed’s intelligence and nerves. 

“Yeah, it was a shoo-in even with me pointing a weapon at the Fuhrer’s throat!”

Greed choked on his drink, “You what?!” 

“That’s brother for you...”

“Yeah it kind of just happened.” Ed’s voice was nonchalant. 

“You’re supposed to be low profile.”

“Ed? Low profile? You’re asking too much, Greed,” Al rolled his eyes. 

“Can’t be low profile when you’re the youngest State Alchemist in history.”

Greed laughed, exasperated, “Well I might be Greed, but right now, you’re making me feel more like Pride.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s where things are going to start getting interesting, folks.
> 
> I should also note that this is set in Brotherhood/the manga, but ill be pulling from some concepts and timeline elements of 03 because they work better for this.


	14. Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed goes back to Dublith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for some injury and vague self harm perhaps maybe? 
> 
> Anyway! Sorry I’ve been gone! As you’re probably hearing from many creators, school is starting up and writing will be a bit slower here but I’m excited for next chapter so it’ll probably be here soon!

“Fullmetal, this is chicken scratch.”

“C’mon, I can read it, you’re not blind,” Ed crossed his arms. 

“I’ll have to transcribe this myself on a new sheet of paper,” Mustang ran hand over his face. 

“Hey you’re the one who wanted the guy with an automail arm,” Ed shrugged. 

“And what’s this scrap of paper?” Mustang thought perhaps it had numbers on it?

“That’s for your eyes only, and maybe Hawkeye. It’s the telephone for the place I stay in Dublith, but I don’t want anyone else to find out about it. Wouldn’t want anyone who might mean us harm to find it,” he shuffled his feet, “I don’t know who I can trust here.” 

“Very well,” Mustang slipped the paper in his breast pocket, “That’s another secret safe with me, as long as you don’t give me a reason to reveal it.”

“As long as your lips are sealed, I’ll keep mine shut about you not caring about the Fuhrer’s wellbeing,” Ed sneered. 

Mustang smirked, “Getting blackmail on me so I can’t use any on you? That’s thinking ahead, you’ll fit in well.”

“Speaking of fitting in, what’s next?” 

“Hm? Oh, first I have to process this information, then I have to fill out additional paperwork concerning you. Seeing as I wasn’t planing on adding anyone to my team, I don’t currently have any plans for you. So until I do, you can start researching at the library, figure out what you plan to do for housing, or go back to wherever it is you call home until I need you back in East City.”

Ed blinked, “Oh.”

“Yeah, just think about it like how the beginning of school isn’t eventful. However, stay here while I try to neaten out your writing just in case I need a translator.”

Ed rolled his eyes and sat down with arms crossed. 

—

“Hey, the boy’s back in town! You wouldn’t by chance be one Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist, would you?” 

Ed fiddled with his braid, “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Didn’t think you’d be back so early.”

“Mustang doesn’t have anything for me to do yet,” Ed shrugged. 

“Well it’s good to have you back.”

Ed scratched the back of his neck, “You’re not mad?”

“Oh I’m livid, kid, don’t mistake me,” Dolcetto met Ed halfway on the walkway to the bar and gave him a tight hug with a acoustic smack on the back, “But that’s not important.”

When he pulled back, he looked Ed over. 

“A lot changes in a year, yeah? You’ve gotten taller.”

Ed’s eyes lit up, “You think so?”

Dolcetto held his thumb and first finger close together, “A smidge.”

The boy sighed. 

“You’ve grown out your hair like some kind of vagabond hobo man, but you make it work. However, this outfit?” Dolcetto shook his head with small laugh, “We shouldn’t have let you go off with Greed that long. He’s rubbed off on you.”

Ed fluffed his coat, “Hey! I look cool! Like you dress any better,” he stuck out his tongue. 

“Pfft, save it, kid, let’s get a look at your arm.”

Ed sunk a bit, looking around, “Maybe inside with everyone else?” 

“Embarrassed to show off your girlfriend’s work?” The man teased. 

Ed shoved his shoulder, “She’s not my girlfriend!”

Dolcetto ruffled Ed’s hair, “Whatever, just go say hi to everyone.”

Inside, warm greetings showered Ed as he entered. Martel punched his left arm playfully, and Roa lifted him off the ground with a hug. 

“So, kid, let’s see the ticker,” Greed called from the piano in the corner’s bench. 

“Oh, right,” Ed held up the pocket watch proudly for everyone to see. 

Greed whistled low while everyone ‘ooh’ and ‘aww’d, “Now that’s a watch.”

“So why’re you back here?” Martel asked. 

“Don’t have any assignments yet, so I thought I’d drop by,” Ed clipped his watch back to his belt, “Anyway, I’m going to go say hi to Al,” he waved and slunk up the stairs. 

In the common area, Al sat at a table with cards in his hands, and a sizable stack of chips by his elbow. Only one other person sat with him now, the rest standing by with anticipation, having lost or folded already. 

“Four of a kind,” the opponent placed his cards on the table. 

Al followed suit with a smirk, “Straight flush.”

The crowd went wild as Al kneeled on his chair to reach across the table and collect the bets, “Guess that means I’m off bathroom duty,” his grin was simply shit-eating while his hair was ruffled and his shoulders shook. 

At the sound of metallic clapping, the crowd turned to the entrance, “Bravo, though I don’t like that you’ve made my little brother such a good gambler.”

“Brother!” Al hopped off his chair and hugged Ed tight. 

“You wanna go round two, Eddie Boy?” Someone called. 

Ed shrugged, “Yeah, ok, deal me in.”

“I don’t know, are State Alchemists allowed to play cards?” Ed was playfully shoved by other. 

“If you think I’ve read the rules, you over estimate my nerdom,” Ed took a seat. 

The others laughed. 

—

“So I’m thinking maybe we start a bingo night.”

“What are you, eighty?” Ed hiked his box of supplies to a better grip, having agreed to accompany Greed on a supply run. 

The homunculus shrugged around his own boxes, “You know I’m way older than that.”

“Ok fine, are you a shriveled up old man living in a old folks’ home because only they host bingo games.”

“Geez, I just think it’s a fun game,” Greed sighed like a horse. 

“I mean-“

“EDWARD ELRIC!” A voice boomed from down the street, and Ed clammed up immediately, _oh shit._

Greed squinted at the preteen slowly inching behind him, and then switched his gaze to angry woman stomping towards them, her sandals smacking the sidewalk ferociously. His eyebrows furrowed, looking between the pair. Ed didn’t have the likeness of a ghost like he had when seeing Mustang’s uniform, but he still looked ready to bolt, “Did she hurt you?”

Ed blinked, “I-what? No?”

Greed pointed at the fast approaching woman, “She’s not someone from the labs?”

“No, but she’s still going to kill me when she finds out I joined the military!” Ed hissed. 

“How long have you been in Dublith,” the woman demanded, having met the distance. 

“Lady, do we got a problem here?” Greed asked before being promptly ignored. 

Ed shrugged from behind Greed, not wanting to tell his teacher he’d been living in Dublith for the better of a year without saying anything, “Awhile?”

“And you haven’t come over for dinner yet,” she shook her head, “You’re coming over tonight.”

“Wait-“

Greed cut Ed off, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can’t just tell him he’s coming to dinner.”

The woman only then seemed to notice the man blocking most of Ed, “And just who are you?”

Ed grumbled as Greed stood a little taller and pressed his left hand to his chest, “The name’s Greed, I-“

Ed pushed him aside, “Yeah, yeah, no one cares about your monologue,” he addressed the woman, “He’s a friend,” he turned to Greed, “This is my teacher, Izumi Curtis.”

Greed sputtered, “Curtis?! You’re teacher is the meat lady?!”

“You know her?” Ed raised an eyebrow. 

“I’ve only heard the stories of the intimidating Curtis couple, they’re legendary here in Dublith. Also they’ve got the best meat in the South. That’s where we buy our meet product,” Greed had his thumb stuck out at Izumi. 

“Thank you,” she said proudly. 

“I can’t believe you stayed in her domain and lived.”

Ed crossed his arms, “It’s not like she’s the boogie man, Greed.”

“Anyway, are you coming to dinner?” She also had her arms crossed. 

Ed sighed, “Yeah, I owe you an explanation anyway. I’ll bring Al too. No beef though.”

“Fine. Alphonse is here?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, Sig likes cooking for company.”

—

By sun down, hiding Al was easier. In the light only cast by street lamps, those heading out to enjoy the night life hardly noticed the boys at all, and most of the people who spent their nights at the Devil’s Nest had come to suspect but not care that something wasn’t quite right with Greed the Avaricious’s bar. 

However, Al’s bouncing excitement made his an easier target to spot. 

“I’m so glad Teacher found you and dragged you out of hiding like a cat under a sofa,” he said giddy. 

Ed rolled his eyes, “Whatever, she still doesn’t know about lab. And that’s not how it happened.”

Coming up on the Curtis house found Izumi waiting on the lawn for them, like she expected Ed to chicken out or something. He almost felt like he should. Explaining his situation wasn’t getting any easier. Al, on the other hand, made a mad dash across the street as soon as he saw her and knocked her a few steps back with a hug. 

“Teacher! I missed you!” 

The shock of the hug melted into a warm smile as she pushed his hood down to pet his hair. But it didn’t take long for her fingers to brush over the displaced, warped ears nestled on his head and still. She pulled Al back and knelt down to look at him. Gently grabbing his chin, she turned his face back and forth. 

“Oh Alphonse, what happened to you?” Her eyes narrowed, “What did you two do?”

“We didn’t do anything!” Ed snapped, seething. 

Izumi looked down the street and caught sight of someone some ways away, “Let’s bring this inside.”

The house hadn’t changed much since the boys left, and Sig’s cooking filled the place with a welcoming and warm aroma. Sig himself had only raked his eyes over Al, but didn’t outwardly react or say a word about it, just went back to his pan, “Been awhile boys. Good to see you again,” his gruff voice rumbled. 

Not long after that, Sig had finished and placed the hot meal on the table before settling himself in with his wife and the two boys. 

“So,” Izumi’s brow rose, “What happened.”

Al looked at his brother. His mouth was still drawn tight, and his right arm rattled under the table. Al sighed. 

“Not long after we got back home, some men from the military kidnapped us and took us to the labs, where we were made into chimeras..” Al gripped the tablecloth. 

“Chimeras? Made with humans?” Izumi blinked, “That’s not possible.”

“Nothing’s impossible,” Ed crossed his arms stiffly. 

“They combined Brother with a lion, and me with a bear. Look at me, it’s possible. My fusion wasn’t so clean.”

“They spent months experimenting on us with their _needles_ and _clipboards_. Some had been there for years. We resigned ourselves to the same fate,” Ed glared harshly at his plate, not interested in touching it. 

Izumi and Sig’s jaws dangled in horror. 

“But luckily Greed found us,” Al continued, “Be broke into the labs and freed all of us and brought us to the Devil’s Nest,” his face brightened, “He’s actually pretty nice and provides well.”

“So then why did you join the military?” Izumi fixed her gaze on Ed. 

He tugged at the neck of his shirt, “So you, uh, heard about that?”

“Not to boost your ego, but you’ve been all over the papers.”

Ed pushed a gloved hand through his hair, “Yes, well, I’ve been trying to reverse the transmutation from the Lab, and none of the public access books I’ve found have given us successful results. I’m hoping the military can provide better resources.”

“You know the military can ask you to do despicable things at a moment’s notice, don’t you?” 

“Of course I do,” Ed sneered, “I’ve only heard the lecture a million times and been on the sharp end of the horrors they can commit.”

Izumi’s shoulders lowered at that, “Yes, I suppose you have.”

“So does that explain it?” Ed poked at his plate. 

“No.”

Ed looked up. 

“The papers mentioned your talent for transmuting without a circle. And your metal hand has been clanking under the table this whole time.”

Ed clutched at the traitorous limb. 

Al looked at the ground. If even he could hear it, it made no surprise Izumi could too. 

“So, I ask again,” she leaned forward, “What did you do.”

Ed matched her glare, “I tried to fix this mess is what I did.”

“What happened to your arm?”

“Got into an accident.”

“Tell the truth Ed.”

“What about you, what did you do?”

Izumi stood from her seat them, “Edward Elric, did you perform human transmutation?”

He stood too, nowhere near her height, “No!”

“Then what did you do?!”

“We tried to separate the lion from Brother’s being by making it a separate body. We assumed it was still alive within Ed and not just lingering instincts, we were wrong, we got punished,” Al spoke quickly, his take cutting off with a shuddering inhale. 

Izumi slid her gaze over to Ed, “Is this true?”

“Of course it’s true, it’s Al were talking about,” Ed hissed. 

“Truth took you to the Gate for that?” She asked, dumbfounded. 

Ed tossed his right glove on the table, “Obviously.”

“...Did Truth take from you too?” Al asked softly. 

Izumi hugged her body, “Yes.”

“But not for an animal, right?”

She sank back into her chair, “...no.”

Ed flopped bonelessly into his, “It’s not like I was trying to undo the natural course of things,” he muttered, “What happened to us wasn’t natural.”

“But you boys still crossed into God’s domain,” Izumi said solemnly, “It’s fair trade for playing God.” 

Ed sat straight as a bolt, “And they didn’t?!” His metal arm gestured behind him at scientists that weren’t there, “The people who did this to us weren’t playing God? Trying to mix living beings?! Were we not products of human transmutation?!”

“Edward, it’s different-“

Ed stood again, this time his chair fell back and hit the floor, “No it’s not!” He paced and pulled at his hair, “No actually it is different! But it’s backwards! They’re the real criminals against the universe here!”

Izumi stood and inched closer to him, “Edward, please calm down-“

“Why?!”

She pulled back, “What?”

“Why did Al and I get punished when they didn’t?! Why should they get to ruin all our lives, turn us into something less than human, and not suffer a scratch for it?!” His knees wobbled and left him sinking slowly to the ground, “And when me and Al try to go back to normal, we’re punished. I lost my arm and he lost half his hearing because I wanted us to be human again,” he pressed his face to the floorboards and slammed his fist against the wood. 

“Oh Edward,” Izumi crouched beside him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling his head to rest on her chest, mirroring the way Sig had moved to the seat closest to Al and held the boy close, letting him bury his face in Sig’s shirt. Below her fingers, Ed trembled with strained, dry sobs. 

“How is that fair?! How is this equivalent?!”

—

After Izumi managed to scoop Ed off the floor and situate him in front of a plate, the group ate in an awkward silence that Al occasionally broke to tell a funny story from the bar in a thin, hollow voice. They let the boys stay the night after calling the bar so that no angry chimeras roamed the streets looking for their missing charges. 

Now Izumi stared up at the ceiling above the bed. 

“Izumi,” Sig’s voice was stern yet gentle, “Sleep.”

“I should’ve never let them leave,” she said to the ceiling. 

“Izumi-“

“I knew they’d get themselves into trouble. They’re just two boys with no one, why did I just let them go?”

“They have their neighbors, that old lady.”

Izumi covered her eyes, “Obviously that wasn’t enough. I should’ve told them they weren’t graduated or something, anything.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“At least Alphonse seems to be taking it well, even if he has it worse.”

“I don’t think he is,” Sig sighed. 

Izumi sat up, “No?”

Sig shook his head, “He’s repressing it I think. I can tell he’s hurting, but I think he’s also latching onto the positives and hope. He rushed through the bad and only seemed interested on the good.”

“Isn’t that good? To focus on the bright side?” 

“I’m not a professional, so don’t take my word as gospel but I think he’s just trying to cling to those things in the hopes that they’ll be able keep him from freaking out long enough for him or Ed to figure something out. It’s like when Kathrine next door didn’t deal with her husband dying in the Eastern Conflict. Acted like normal, cheerful as ever until she had that breakdown.”

Izumi fiddled with a piece of hair, “Yes, I remember that. She had to move in with her mom after getting hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. You don’t think Alphonse-or Edward would ever get so bad that something like that happened, do you?”

“I don’t know. Ed’s already sold his soul to the military. As for Al, I think we should just try and get him to talk more. More dinners and such.”

Izumi put her face in her hands, “Sig, what did they do to deserve this? They’re just kids.”

He rolled over and held her close, pressing her face into the warmth of his chest, “I don’t know.”

—

Al sat up in his bed, the bed he’d slept in during the duration of his training. Ed slept calmly in the bed across the room, completely worn out. But Al couldn’t sleep. 

This wasn’t new. Al spent many nights tossing and turning praying for the sleep that wouldn’t come. Some nights he gave up and watched the stars, leaning his arms against the window frame. Other times he read by lamp light, or even in the common area. He’d usually fall asleep slouched over a table and wake before Ed. Some times one of the nocturnal chimeras chatted with him, some times even Greed was out there having a smoke. He’d look concerned before stubbing out his cigarette in the ash tray, but he’d never send Al back to his room. Instead, he’d engage the boy in soft conversation about whatever Al was reading or simple things like an especially pesky pigeon Greed had seen that day. Al missed the way the countryside teemed with fauna the way the cities did not. The conversations with Greed always seemed to lull Al, but on those nights, he always woke back up in his bed. 

Al slipped his feet onto the floor, unable to quietly sit among his brother’s mouth breathing and the old house’s settling anymore. He padded across the room, knowing which floorboards creaked the worst and made his way to the kitchen. His muscles still remembered which cabinet held the glasses, and he filled one with water. 

He sipped casually, leaning against the counter and watching the stars from the kitchen window. In another life, he imagined he’d have taken up astronomy. It wasn’t nearly as glamours as alchemy, but the stars were beautiful, beautiful things. They looked like tiny crystals embedded into the aether of the night sky, but bafflingly so, they were giant balls of gas so incomprehensibly far away, and yet, their light still reached Al standing alone in a kitchen in the dead of the night. Perhaps one day people could see them closer, or even set foot on the moon, perhaps by a giant bullet, perhaps by a flying machine. Al wouldn’t mind seeing what lived beyond the clouds. 

A sound outside the house startled Al into dropping the glass. It shattered as hit the ground, sending glass everywhere. He’d scuffled in his shock and bit his lip at the pain blooming from the bottom of his feet and the blood diffusing into the puddle of water on the ground. 

He’d been rebellious once. Most of the other chimeras has commended him for his calm and collected nature, taking treatments in stride, but they didn’t know why. Sure someone had to try and counteract his brother’s volatile nature, but Al wasn’t a pushover if he could help it. The first time he’d been taking for testing on his own had wrung out his fight. They’d pulled at his hair, swabbed around his mouth, shined lights in his eyes, and pulled at his nails. That had been fine enough, annoying and invasive, but handleable. Then the temperature tests. He’d bashed his fists against glass as he shook with cold or dripped with sweat. They’d cuffed him to a treadmill and increased the speed until he got road rash on his cheek from where he’d fallen. They shoved his head underwater until he fought the grip on the back of his neck with ferocious desperateness and had to choke out a lung full of water once removed. But when the needles came on a gleaming silver tray too clean for a place like this, Al struggled and trashed in the chair they held him down in. Who knew what was in the technicolor cocktail of syringes or how it would feel. He’d managed to kick one scientist in the groin and head butt another. He even slapped the first vial out of one of their hands. 

It shattered against the ground in a spectacular display and suddenly Al was out of the chair. A hand shoved his head into the viscous liquid that made his sensitive nose burn. The glass cut into his cheek and his blood beaded and pooled next to the mystery substance of different density but it still burned when it mixed with his open and stinging cuts. A hand gripped tightly in his hair ground his cheek into the floor, and he though a foot might’ve kicked his stomach. Someone jammed a new needle into Al’s flesh with more force than necessary and he writhed upon the glass as if he could squirm away from the freezing agony that raced through his blood, covering every inch of him inside and out with sharp pins and needles. 

“-se, Alphonse!” A voice broke him from the memory. Izumi was crouched in front of him, Sig behind her. Both’s eyes blazed with worry. 

Her hand encircled his closed fist. He snatched it away, stumbling back with the force, feet crunching on more glass. 

“Don’t touch me,” He growled darkly, not yet quite registering his surroundings. 

“Al, can I please look at your hand?” Izumi held her own out expectantly. 

Al almost shook his head furiously but stiffened his neck muscles to stop himself. Disobedience got him nowhere. Only got him more hurt. The treatment would come no matter what, but he did have a choice on whether it came with swinging fists or swift slaps. 

He thrusted his arm forward. 

“Great, can you open your fist, Alphonse?”

He blinked, not realizing he had anything in his hand. It was wet and warm. Sweat? No. He blinked again, surprised to see little streams of blood flowing from beneath his fingers and dripping into the puddle below. He opened his hand and let the piece of glass splash to floor. When did he grab that?

“Good, you’re doing great, can you look at me?” Fingers presses to his cheek, he flinched, they disappeared as if he were a hot pan. 

His gaze slid over sluggishly. He’d forgotten Izumi had even been there. 

“Very good, now watch me, breathe with me, ok Al?”

He tried to take a breath only to find it neigh impossible. His chest felt tight and his lungs rebelled, sucking into uneven and short breaths. That was strange. 

“Come on Al, you can do it, with me, one, two, three...”

He followed his instruction, chest burning with effort but finally air hit the bottom of his lungs and he suddenly felt very tired. The kitchen came into focus as well as the mess on the floor. His feet hurt. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. 

“Whatever for?” Her voice was soft. 

“I broke your glass.”

A helpless laugh passed her lips, “It’s ok, Alphonse, it’s just a cup. I can get more. You’re more important right now.”

He stared. 

“Do you think it would be ok for Sig to carry you to the bathroom so we can patch you up?”

He looked at Sig standing there in the doorway, shuffling awkwardly. He didn’t want arms around him but the prospect of taking a step forced him to nod. 

Sig’s arms were warm and gentle around Al, loose enough to let him escape if he needed and that made all the difference. Sig’s giant hand encompassed Al’s while Izumi pulled the shards from his feet piece by painful piece. 

After what felt like an eternity, the last piece came free and clattered into the pile on the floor with its siblings. Izumi reached into the first aid kit then and popped open a bottle. The smell of antiseptic hit Al’s nose and immediately made him recoil, tugging to release his arm from the once comforting grip but now only trapped him. Izumi and Sig murmured comforts to him, softly petting his arms, and tears spilled over Al’s eyes as he thought about the time he’d scraped his knee chasing Den about and his mom and dad had comforted him through the pain of peroxide. Dad had patted his shoulder and Mom had blown on the burning sensation from the liquid bubbling up on his cut just as Izumi was doing now for his feet. She smoothed antibiotic cream over his soles and wrapped them in soft bandages. They never wrapped injuries at the lab. 

She gently grabbed his hand and swabbed away the crusting blood before repeating this same process, only this time she kissed each of his fingers after she’d wrapped him up. 

“Would you like to sleep with us tonight?” Izumi smoothed his hair. 

Al nodded solemnly, feeling embarrassed for wanting such a thing at age eleven, but he didn’t want to lay back down in his empty bed, nor did he want to wake up and bother Ed with something they hadn’t done since Mom died. 

The bed was fairly big, though Sig took up most of it. Still, they managed to wedge Al in between them, safe and sound and warm. Al snuggled into the sheets imagining his brother bursting in with bed head looking for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt it was time we see Al isn’t just fine with everything.


	15. Thread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed gets a lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been dying to get to this part fam! It’s gonna be a great time!

“Ed,” Roa waved the boy into the kitchen, “This is yours,” he placed a paper back on the counter, “And please take this to table five,” he slid a plate over to Ed who lifted the bag. 

“What’s this?”

“Lunch for your train ride today,” the man answered. 

“Oh. Thank you, Roa,” Ed grabbed both items with a small smile. 

“Yeah. You be safe now, ok,” Roa flipped a burger on the griddle, “Come back in one piece, alright?”

Ed waved him off as he exited, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll keep out of trouble.”

He carried the plate expertly on his fingertips to the table next to the couch and nodded as he was thanked. The working girls sitting there cooed at him and pulled his cheek. 

“You look so handsome, little man!” One booped his nose. 

He pushed her arm away muttering about his height. He hadn’t dressed especially interesting today, just black everything plus his favorite red coat. Fortunately for Ed’s fashion taste, but unfortunately for his ego, none of the military uniforms fit him. When he’d grumbled about it, Dolcetto had commented that the military didn’t make uniforms for twelve year olds who shouldn’t be in there in the first place, and that it wasn’t a height matter. Ed couldn’t image was the girls would say if they saw him done up in uniform. 

“What’s the suitcase for, pumpkin?” Another asked, voice sickly sweet. 

“Boss man told me he’s got a lead, so I’m off to central.”

“Ooh, what kind of lead?”

Ed propped his suitcase on his shoulder, “That’s confidential military intel, ladies.”

They squealed and giggled at him. He rolled his eyes. 

“Oh hey, kid!” Greed’s fingers stilled on the piano keys he’d been playing, “C’mere!”

Ed wandered over and rested his arm over the top of the piano, “Yeah?”

Greed reached under the bench and handed Ed a box, “This is care package of sorts from us to you, open it when you get to where you’re going and feel like you need it. For like...what did Martel say? Reassurance? I think?” Greed held the box out but pulled it back before Ed could take it, “Don’t you dare open it on the train.”

“Ok, I promise.”

“Good,” Greed handed it over, “Have a good trip and you better come back in good condition. I can’t have broke things yknow.”

Ed situated the box under his arm, “Even though I have a metal arm,” he snickered, “See ya later, Greed.”

Outside, Dolcetto ruffled the hair Ed had worked hard to make presentable, but the dog chimera smiled at Ed around his pipe, and that was miles more important. 

The train ride lacked any excitement, but Ed enjoyed his lunch, even if the grilled cheese had cooled on the way to the station. He propped his feet on the empty bench facing him and folded his arms behind his head. He’d had his doubts about the Colonel, but letting his first putting be that of personal research gave Ed second thoughts. The bastard would probably just hang it over his head in exchange for something though. 

He wondered if he’d get time to visit Hughes while in Central. The man seemed extremely nice and his wife’s cooking could bring even the toughest jerks to tears. If anything, he’d have to drop by the next chance he had to go to Dublith so he could bring back some of that pie to Al. He’d have to suffer through Hughes babbling about his family but he’d consider it payment for the pie. Plus, it was nice to see a man so enthusiastic about his wife and kid. 

_He’d probably turn on you if he knew what you were though,_ Ed frowned and looked out the window at the landscape speeding by. 

A nap later found Ed at the platform searching for who Mustang had called Havoc. All he knew was that the man smoked. Eventually he found a man in military uniform with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He’d leaned over the back of a bench to talk to a pretty girl who laughed shyly at him. On the floor, forgotten, was the sign with Ed’s name on it. 

Ed cleared his throat, “Aren’t you supposed to be looking for someone?”

Havoc’s head snapped over to the boy, cigarette hanging on his lip, “Oh hey, you Major Elric?”

Major felt strange to Ed’s ears, but he nodded anyway. 

Havoc reached out his hand and shook Ed’s, “Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, it’s nice to meet you sir.”

Sir...that felt weird too. 

Havoc turned back to the girl and whispered something in her ear, presumably that he had to leave, but she blushed and giggled nonetheless. It reminded Ed of Greed sweet talking to those who caught his eye. 

“Alright, let’s go,” Havoc motioned for Ed to follow. 

In the car, Havoc initiated chatter, “Was your train ride good?”

Ed nodded before realizing Havoc had his eyes on the road and not the backseat, “Yes, it was a smooth trip.”

“Heh, no crying babies or snorers?”

“Nah, I even got a cat nap in,” Ed laughed inwardly at his joke. 

“That’s good chief. Y’know, I think it’s pretty neat to have you on the team.”

“Yeah?”

Havoc drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as they came to a red light, “Yeah. If anyone was gonna get the kid, I’m glad it was us. Things were getting pretty stale around the office, so I’m sure you’ll spice things up.”

Ed crossed his arms, “My age is the only thing that’s interesting?”

“Nah, Hawkeye said you and the Colonel can get quite sassy with each other and that you called out his loyalty,” Havoc laughed, tapping ashes into the tray, “I sure you two will provide great entertainment.”

Ed rolled his eyes at that. 

The rest of the car ride passed in small talk and Havoc pointing out bits of Central that Ed might not have seen during his previous trip like the mom and pop bakery on the corner, a historic park, or Havoc’s favorite florist shop to pick up flowers for his dates. When the car pulled into the driveway of a large house in Central’s suburbs, Ed ogled at it. 

“Wow,” he breathed. 

Havoc whistled low, “Yeah, State Alchemists get a pretty hefty salary don’t they? You in the house market any time soon?” He asked, looking back at Ed’s wide eyes amused. 

He parked the car and let out Ed who stretched his legs, still stiff from the train ride. The car’s engine must’ve been pretty loud, for the glossy wood doors of the house opened to revealed a man who sent a shiver down Ed’s spine. 

“Ah, you must be Edward Elric,” he called cheerily across the lawn, waving before pushing his glasses further up his nose. 

_After taking Mustang’s call out of the bar and to one of the phone booths still in Dolcetto’s field of vision, he wrapped the cord around his finger and asked Mustang to continue explaining the lead he’d found for Ed._

_“I’ve managed to arrange for you to meet with our record’s leading chimera expert,” Mustang said._

_Ed almost felt touched that the man’s first job for the boy was an interview for Ed’s own personal purposes instead of a normal military assignment, not that Ed knew what that looked like yet. Maybe Mustang wanted him out of the military as much as Ed wanted._

_“He goes by the title, ‘The Sewing-Life Alchemist,’ name, Shou Tucker. He lives in Central with his four year old daughter,” a ruffle of papers indicated Mustang was reading off a file, “He became certified two years ago when he made the first chimera to speak the human tongue.”_

_Ed scoffed at that, “Wow, how impressive.”_

_“First talking chimera on public record then,” Mustang conceded, “It only said one thing though, ‘I want to die.’”_

_Ed’s grip on the receiver tightened._

_“After that, it refused to eat or drink until it died.”_

_Ed leaned against the booth’s wall, “So we’re probably not dealing with the complete wealth of chimera knowledge then.”_

_Roy sighed, “No I suppose not, but this is what’s available without having to break into the laboratory’s apparently confidential research.”_

_“It’s still better than the old books in the library that only touch on the subject briefly. Also we kind of burned most of the lab’s files anyway.”_

_“That was probably very smart.”_

_Ed shrugged despite the phone conversation, “It was Greed’s idea.”_

_Mustang chuckled, “Perhaps that big lug isn’t as stupid as I’d previously suspected.”_

_“He’s Stupid, but he’s not stupid, if you you know what I’m saying. Anyway, thanks for the lead, Mustang, I’ll keep in contact-“_

_“Edward wait.“ Ed’s hand stilled over the hook, “This is a good lead, but it’s also very dangerous. I’m reminding you to be careful. I’m not sure Tucker would pass up an opportunity to study a human chimera.”_

_Ed blew at a stray hair in his eyes, “Obviously it’s dangerous, I’m not foolish. Why do you care anyway?” He sneered at the receiver._

_“You’re one of my men now, which means you’re under orders to not die,” Mustang said matter-of-fairly as if Ed should already know this. Either way it gave Ed pause._

_“Plus, your status is a great bargaining chip to help me climb the ladder in ranks.”_

_Ed sputtered, offended._

_Mustang just laughed, “Jean Havoc will pick you up from the station. You’ll probably be able to find him by following his smoke trail.”_

Ed’s instincts flared suddenly. The presence of a predator made him side step into Havoc right as a giant white dog flopped on the ground where Ed had just been. It eyed him with a look that screamed offense at Ed’s escape. 

The man at the door clapped with a lopsided grin, “I must say I’m impressed. Not many people can dodge Alexander like that, you’ve broken his track record,” he looked back into the house, “And he wouldn’t have a record if somebody tied him up like she was supposed to.”

A girl slipped past the doorway and threw her arms around the dog with a giggle, “But Alexander likes to run around and play!”

Alexander barked in agreement. 

The girl looked at Ed and Havoc, “Oh, daddy look! People!”

“Yes, that’s Edward, he’s here to visit,” he looked at Ed, “Edward, this is my daughter Nina,” Tucker gestured at the smiling girl. 

“Are you here to play?”

Ed shook his head, “No I’m here to do research.”

“Research?”

“Yknow, like reading.”

“Oh, reading is boring, I like to color!”

Ed sighed, how could anyone think reading was boring, young or not? 

Havoc patted him on his shoulder, “I’m gonna head out, chief. I’ll be back for you later tonight.”

“Ok, thanks, Havoc.”

“Why don’t you come in, Edward, I’ll show you around,” Tucker opened the door wider while Nina chased Alexander off towards the backyard. 

Inside, the house was still dauntingly big, if not a little cluttered with papers, toys, and a sink filled with dishes, “Sorry about the mess,” Tucker laughed off his embarrassment, “Ever since my wife left, the place has lacked a woman’s touch.”

Ed scrunched his nose behind the man’s back, he and Al had kept their house perfectly tidy without their mom. 

“Take a seat at the table over there, and I’ll make us some tea.”

Ed complied, settling his red coat over the back of the chair and twiddling his thumbs until Tucker placed a cup in front of Ed and sat opposite of him. The tea tasted alright, not as good as what Al, Roa, or Mrs. Hughes could make, but far better than Greed’s attempts (he always seeped the the bags too long, something about wanting all the flavor possible). 

“You know, I don’t get many visitors here, and often I am too busy to have anyone over, but when I heard that the youngest State Alchemist wanted to see me, well, how could I say no?” 

Ed laughed awkwardly, “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“So, why the interest in chimeras?”

Tucker seemed harmless and nice enough, a little pudgy, round glasses, a weary but genuine smile on his tired face, and his cheerful little daughter certainly didn’t make him come across as threatening, but the hairs on the back of Ed’s neck wouldn’t stand down. This man wouldn’t hesitate to throw Ed or Al into cages and come at them with scalpels. 

He couldn’t trust Tucker. 

But he could act like it. 

“It’s a field I’m not particularly well versed in, and I’d like to learn more.”

“The library wasn’t enough?” Tucker sipped his own tea, amused. 

“I’ve read it all,” Ed shrugged, “The public library texts anyway.”

“Impressive. It’s no wonder you’re a prodigy. I used to devour books when I was your age. Nowadays my research is more practical and physical.”

“I see you didn’t instill the love of reading into your daughter,” Ed grinned slightly. 

Tucker laughed, light glinting off his lenses, “Yes, well, she’s more of an artist like her mother.”

Ed eyed the crayon drawings at the corner of the table. Nina was indeed good for four years old. 

“Anyway, I’ve got some books of my own you can look into and we can look at the lab too,” Tucker rose and pushed in his chair. Ed followed suit. 

—

The lab was relatively small. Tucker kept the lights off when not in use. When he flicked the switch, the animals in cages flinched and cowards at the brightness. After that, they began to shriek and rattle the cage doors and gnaw at the bars. 

The blood drained from Ed face and he felt suddenly sick at the sight. Some had two heads, or far too many limbs. They were all twisted, tortured creatures that frothed at the mouth and paced in their tiny prisons. Ed hadn’t seen many animal chimeras in his time, but they were almost worse than the human ones. At least human based chimeras could be calmed and made rational. They could speak and explain what hurt. These things could only howl in pain and claw uselessly at their prisons. 

Tucker seemed to notice Ed’s pallor and closed the doors, “It’s not for everybody. How about we look at the library instead?”

The library had a far better outcome. 

Ed thought Hohenheim’s personal collection of books was impressive, but this library could almost pass as a small public branch. The boy stared at it in awe, horrifying creations almost forgotten. 

“I can’t believe you have so many!” Ed gasped, wandering in and taking in the shelves upon shelves of books. There were even ladders!

“I’ve purchased most of them from libraries. My field isn’t very popular, so no one is really lining up to check these books out. Feel free to look around and read as much as you’d like.”

“Really?”

“Of course, you came to research, it’s only natural I allow you to all my materials. If you have any questions, I’ll be up in my study.”

With that, Tucker left Ed with his wealth of knowledge. 

—

Some hours later, Ed had buried his nose in and skimmed through a small pile of books, but he couldn’t help but feel he was being watched. Watched by a pair of eyes low to the ground. He looked up in time to see the tiny head jerk behind the bookcase. He went back to reading. 

Not even five minutes had passed before the burn on eyes on his back returned. 

“Can I help you?” He asked not looking up from his work. 

A tiny gasp, then nothing. 

Another five minutes passed and the stare was back. Ed growled under his breath, closing his book, “Look, I’m trying to read here, so if you need something, spit it out, if not, please go play somewhere else.”

Nina startled at the direct eye contact, but she soon smiled and moseyed over to Ed with his hands behind her back. 

“I made this for you!” She exclaimed, revealing that flower crown she’d been hiding. 

Ed blinked at it, letting her press it into his hand, “Uh...thank you?”

“You wear it on your head!” She pointed to her own head as if to demonstrate. 

“I know how to wear a flower crown!” Ed stuck his nose up and put it on. He’d had many during Winry’s phase where that’s all she made, and then he’d had plenty more after she’d taught Al. 

“Can we play now?” She rocked back and forth on her feet. 

“I’ve got a lot of work to do, I’m sorry,” Ed shook his head. 

She pouted, “That’s What Daddy always says.”

Images of Hohenheim with his back turned, hunched over his desk all hours of the day flashed past Ed’s mind and he sighed looking at his watch, “Fine. I’m sure a little break can’t hurt.” 

“Yay!” She squealed and pulled at his arm. She stopped and stared at it, “Your arm is so hard!”

Ed stood and gently pulled out of her grasp, “Uh, yeah, it’s metal...would you...would you like to see it?” 

“Uh-huh!” Her eyes were wide with curiosity. 

Ed shrugged off his black jacket and gloves, revealing the gleaming arm beneath. 

“Wow!!! How do you get that?!”

He rolled his shoulder, “I lost it...in a farming accident.”

“Oh...did it hurt?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about that, let’s play, right?”

“Yeah!” She giggled, marching out of the house. 

—

Ed had forgotten what being a kid felt like, but running around playing tag or hide and seek with Nina and Alexander allowed him to remember the old days playing with Al and Winry before research on human transmutation consumed the brothers’ lives, before Winry spent most of her time tinkering, before the Lab. 

They played fetch with Alexander, Nina throwing from on top of Ed’s shoulders until the dog grew bored. After that, Ed gathered sticks and transmuted them to rope. Luckily Alexander seemed like quite the smart dog and he figured out how to swing the rope so that Nina could jump, laughing all the way. 

Ed made chalk from rocks around the yard so the could draw, they played leap frog, and by the time Ed collapsed back onto the grass, Alexander flopping over his chest, Havoc’s car pulled up. 

“Hey, chief, whatcha doing?” He leaned over the boy and dog. 

“Taking a break.”

“Ah, I see, did you figure out housing yet?”

Ed shook his head, embarrassed. 

“Yeah the Colonel thought you might not have. He called the lieutenant colonel for you.”

Ed grinned. He liked the Hughes household. 

“Also...is that a drawing of me?”

Ed turned his head to the chalk doodles and the cartoonish one of Havoc smoking with his tongue out, “Uh, yeah, do you like it?”

Havoc considered it for a moment before smiling softly, “Yeah...its kind of cute. Anyway let’s head out.”

Tucker came out the front door then, “Come on Nina, it’s getting dark, inside you go,” he called, “Oh Ed, are you leaving?”

Ed pushed the dog off of him, “Yeah!”

“Why don’t you come back tomorrow then?”

Ed smiled, “Really? That’d be great!”

Havoc opened the door for Ed, “Oh, and Mr. Tucker, I was told to remind you that evaluation is coming soon!”

Tucker’s face fell, “Yes...tell them I’m aware.”

“Ok, have a good night then!” Havoc started the car and drove off.

“What’s evaluation?” Ed asked. 

“Oh it’s something State Alchemists have to do to keep their position. Basically they prove that they deserve continued funding.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah keep that in mind, you’ll have to do it to, y’know.”

Ed looked out this window, “Yeah. I wonder how Mr. Tucker is gonna top his talking chimera.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those of you who guessed this, great job!


	16. Needle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Swiggity swox, what’s in the box?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for disappearing for over a month! School has been kicking my rear and I almost gave up, but I knew I couldn’t leaving you guys here. Hopefully the next couple of chapters will be up soon. I only split this one because I don’t have the stamina for what happens next right now.

“Have you ever tried to reverse the transmutation?” Ed sipped on the lack luster tea. 

“Hm,” Tucker folded his fingers and rested his chin on them, “I can’t say I’ve ever thought about it. The military usually asks for more chimeras, not less.” 

“Oh.”

Tucker’s eyebrow raised then, “What makes you ask? Don’t meet very many alchemists interested in undoing things.”

Ed bit his lip, mind racing for an excuse, “Well, I feel like reversing transmutations isn’t something that has much research and could be my niche to fill.”

“Interesting,” the corner of Tucker’s mouth twitched, “You think it’s a worthy pursuit?”

Ed swallowed, “Alchemists are for the people, but you and I both know it has as much power to destroy as it does to create. Having the knowledge to reverse all manners of transmutation might be useful someday in helping people,” he stared down at his reflection in the tea cup. 

“That’s certainly an interesting theory, Edward, especially starting with chimeras.”

“It’s not like I want to undo your work or anything,” Ed laughed nervously, “But I know chimeras are one of the most delicate and complex transmutations. I figured if that could be undone, the rest will be a walk in the park.”

Tucker nodded, “My wife was a choir singer. Her vocal coach always taught them songs in Auregan before she taught anything else. Something about ‘if you can sing in Auregan, you can sing in any language.’”

Ed frowned, “Do you mind if I ask what happened you her?”

Tucker sighed and took a swig from his cup, sitting back, “Not at all. Before I got my certification, we were very poor. I couldn’t buy nice toys for Nina or jewelry for my wife. We barely scraped by. She couldn’t take being with a no good, poor alchemist anymore and left...” he looked down at his shoes, glare from the ceiling light hiding his eyes, “I can’t say I fully blame her for wanting to leave us, but it saddens me that she didn’t even think of Nina back then. It’s just a shame she couldn’t stick it out longer since I got my certification shortly after.”

Ed glanced at Nina and Alexander napping against each other on the rug. Mom dying was painful enough, but Ed didn’t think he could handle her rejecting him. At least he could relate to Nina when it came to Hohenheim, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Tucker shrugged, “As much as I’d have liked to keep her around, Nina and I are better off now than we ever were and I couldn’t imagine going back to how things were before.”

“I suppose the transmutation that got you in is one you wouldn’t want to undo.”

Tucker sipped his tea. 

—

Working with Tucker certainly wasn’t the worst thing in the world. The man had a lab of tortured creatures, sure, but it wasn’t a lab full of humans. Ed couldn’t see his captors as people, but he could see Tucker as one. He got distracted easily, and often found himself too busy to entertain Ed’s desperate bid to research reverse transmutations, but he smiled at his daughter as if she held all the answers he needed. 

Nina was also an exceptionally bright spot in the slough through endless books, most of which told him nothing useful. She seemed to always know when to drag him away for a break. Ed had read somewhere once that dogs aided in reducing stress, and while Den always seemed to bring a calming presence, Ed couldn’t say the same for Dol, but laying down on the grass, watching clouds pass, and running his hand through Alexander’s thick coat was certainly soothing. 

At the end of the day, Havoc would pick him up and make small chatter while driving him to the lieutenant colonel’s. Hughes and his wife didn’t treat Ed so much as a guest, but as family, which was awkward as it was heartwarming. He’d forgotten people could be so kind and trusting. 

Gracia made exceptional food and always scooped a bit extra onto Ed’s plate, no doubt seeing that he still hadn’t managed to quite reach a healthy weight. Hughes always dragged him into the living room for whatever activity might be going on there such as a board game or just chatter-usually about Elicia. If Ed insisted he had work to do, he’d be let go, but it was kind of nice to just seep in this family’s normalcy and domestically. 

Elicia herself had even seemed to start to warm up to Ed. Now she just stared at him with weirdly knowing eyes for a baby, but Ed supposed he’d take that over wailing. However, she adored her father, who adored her in return. Ed had even been privy to see her speak for the first time, gurgling out the word, “da.” It had been an event in the house, and Ed had barely been able to scurry out of camera range. Hughes had babbled on endlessly about how proud he was, and how honored he’d been to be the subject of her first word. He looked excited enough to crush her, but his embrace had been gentle. 

Gracia had caught Ed watching on from the other side of the room and chuckled at him. 

“You’ll understand when you have your own kids.”

He smiled at her then, but he highly doubted he’d ever find himself in such a position. 

From days with the Tuckers to evenings with the Hughes, Ed felt old bitterness rising in his throat towards his own situation. Hughes seemed like a father from a fairytale, impossibly loving and responsible, and Gracia’s warmth reminded Ed of his own mother. Elicia was surely lucky to have the household she did. If Ed had anything to give, he’d give it to be in a household that wasn’t broken. He’d even settle for Hohenheim being a distracted, busy father, like Tucker. At least he saw Nina as having some value in his life. 

When he settled into his guest bed at night, a loneliness washed over him despite the full, inviting home he’d found himself leeching off of. He missed his mom, and some part of him still missed his dad. Out here in Central, no one truly knew him. He didn’t have his brother, he didn’t have his friends. He could only hope his time with Tucker would end soon so that he could see them again. 

That’s when he remembered the box he’d slid under the bed. Greed said to open it when he needed it, and in the crushing silence of the night, Ed decided now was as good a time as any. 

He reached under the bed and dragged it out before pulling it up to sit between his legs. Letting his left index finger form a claw and ran it along the tape sealing the contents inside. Once open, he couldn’t help but smile. Everyone had packed him a token to remind him of them and of the bar. In fact the air trapped inside smelled of smoke and cheap alcohol. Most would probably turn their noses up at it, but for Ed, it let his shoulders relax. 

Martel had packed him a knife from her personal collection. The note attached assured him that his boot would make a fine home for the weapon, and Ed agreed, tossing it and its cover toward his shoes. Bido packed a few bags of his favorite tea that never failed to calm his nerves or banish a nightmare. Dolcetto left him an old pipe he didn’t use anymore with a note explaining that he didn’t need it and that he knew Ed liked how it smelled. Ed gave it a sniff, and indeed it smelled both of Granny’s and of afternoons spent on watch with Dol. Al gifted him a poker chip that he’d won which annoyed Ed because he didn’t want Al gambling, and annoyed him more because Al had probably wanted to get a rise out of him, but his note said that he was “betting” on Ed to get what he wanted, which had made him smile. Roa’s gift came in the form of tightly wrapped cookies made from a recipe his mom taught him, and they tasted like Roa needing to quit and work at a bakery instead. As for Greed, he gave Ed a single coin. Ed expected a note saying not to spend it one place, but against all odds, it turned out to be the first coin Greed had ever earned on his own, even before the bar. Looking closer, Ed confirmed that coin’s date went back to the 1800s. Greed’s note explained the coin meant a lot to him as a symbol of his independence and that while he had dubious beliefs on luck, that it would surly bring Ed luck in his independent ventures. He smiled as he rubbed his finger over the old metal before slipping it into his pocket watch and settling down to sleep. 

—

In the morning, Ed shuffled down the stairs to find Hughes at the dinning room table with coffee and some papers. 

“Oh, Ed boy, there’s breakfast for you keeping warm in the oven,” he said when he noticed the boy. 

“Thanks,” Ed retrieved the plate, “Where’s your wife and Elicia?” Usually they were inseparable in the mornings. 

“Gracia’s great grandmother recently had her ninety-fifth birthday. They don’t know how much longer she’ll live, so Gracia is spending a few days out there so her relative can meet Elicia,” Hughes took a sip of his coffee and frowned, “I miss them already.”

“Oh.”

The man brightened and clapped Ed’s shoulder, “But don’t you worry! I know how to keep us alive and well in her absence!”

Ed smiled and ducked his head into his fork, “You seem very capable, sir. Thank you again for you and your family’s kindness.”

“It’s nothing, Edward, you’re welcome to it,” Hughes had warmth in his eyes, “How’re things going with Shou Tucker?”

Ed shrugged, “I’m learning a lot, I guess.”

“Not what you’re looking for?”

“Not yet. Tucker’s nice, but too busy with his evaluation to work with me. Maybe afterwards. His daughter is really sweet though.”

Hughes nodded. 

“What about you?” Ed gestured towards the papers strewn across the table, “What’re you working on?”

Hughes’s face became suddenly serious, “Someone murdered the Iron Blood Alchemist recently.”

Ed blinked in surprise, “Oh.”

“Brigadier General, Basque Grand.”

Ed’s jaw dropped slightly. Hearing about the murder of an alchemist was surprising enough, but one with such a high rank? Whatever bastard killed him had balls, and a lot of power apparently, “O-oh.”

“Yeah. We don’t have a lot of information yet, but this is kind of a big deal.”

Ed stood up with his mostly empty plate, “Don’t let me keep you from it, Havoc should be here soon.”

Hughes shuffled a paper, “Good luck with your research, Ed.”

—

“Oh wow, thank you!” Nina squealed at the offered cookie. 

“A good friend of mine made them,” Ed nibbled on his own cookie, “His name’s Roa. He’s a big ox of a man,” he smiled at his own joke, “and he’s really good in the kitchen. Maybe you can come meet him someday.”

“Really, big brother?” Nina’s grin was bright, “Would he make more cookies?”

Ed nodded grimacing, still not used to the the title Nina’d given him, “Uh-huh. He loves kids, he’d make you a hundred.”

“Can I give one to Alexander?” The dog lifted his head at his name. 

Ed shook his head, “No, these have chocolate in them which is really dangerous to dogs.”

Nina deflated, “Oh. Sorry Alexander!”

Alexander thumped his tail once. 

Nina giggled and went back to scrawling on her paper. 

“What’re you writing anyway?”

“A letter to my mom!” She answered cheerfully. 

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“She never writes back,” Nina frowned, “But I think she’s just so far away that I haven’t gotten her letter yet!”

Ed frowned as well, doubting that. Unless the woman had moved to Xing, she’d have had plenty of time to get a reply to her daughter. Maybe she moved around a lot? Or maybe she just didn’t care. It wasn’t like Hohenheim ever wrote back, but Ed didn’t want to dash her hopes. 

“Do you miss her?” He asked before he could stop himself. 

Nina nodded and hummed, “Yup, but I know she’ll come see me again, or I’ll get to visit her someday when daddy isn’t too busy and can take me there. Maybe then she’ll come back!”

“I hope she does, she has a wonderful daughter.”

Nina blushed with a bubbling laugh before going back to her paper and kicking her feet. 

A few minutes later she pulled Ed’s attention away from his book, “Oh, we can’t play together tomorrow.”

His eyebrow raised, “And why’s that, Ms. Nina?”

“I’m helping daddy with his work, and then we’re going to play, just me and him! So you can read!”

“That’s very nice of you two,” Ed smiled, “I’m sure you’ll be a great help to your dad.”

Nina nodded, “You can still play with Alexander though!”

The dog’s ears flicked. 

“That’s very generous, thank you, Nina.”

—

As it turned out, it wouldn’t be a good day for playing anyway. 

“Looks like it’s gonna be a bad day for sewer rats,” Havoc mumbled, letting Ed out of the car, “You stay dry out there, chief.”

Ed rolled his shoulder, trying to stop the beginnings of an ache, “Yeah, will do.”

With hands in his pockets, Ed trudged across the lawn and up the house steps. No one came when he knocked, and by the third try, Ed wasn’t interested in baiting the rain any longer and tried the door handle. 

Luckily, but oddly, the door wasn’t locked. Perhaps Nina had left it that way?

“Hello?” He called, hanging his coat up. 

No response. 

Weird. 

An empty tea cup sat at the table alongside a full ashtray, which showed that Tucker hadn’t been suddenly abducted-wait. Tucker didn’t smoke...did he?

“Mr. Tucker? Nina?” Ed wandered about the seemingly empty house, “...Alexander?”

Nina hadn’t mentioned helping her father somewhere else, had she? 

After searching the study and even checking Nina’s room, Ed begrudgingly headed to the lab. 

The lights were off, but Ed saw Tucker across the room bright as day.

“Oh there you are, Edward! Come look, I finally did it.”

Before Tucker sat a large quadrupedal chimera with long brown hair over white fur and blank eyes. 

The hairs on the back of Ed’s neck raised. 

“I finally made a chimera that understands human speech, and just in time for my certification, too. Watch this,” the man crouched down in front of the beast and pointed at Ed, “That person over there? That’s Edward.”

The chimera turned dull eyes on Ed, “ _That person Ed-ward,_ ” it said in a distorted and grating voice. 

Tucker rubbed the creature’s head, “Yes, very good! Well done!”

Ed fiddled with his thumbs awkwardly, unnerved by the display. The few animal based chimeras he’d seen at the lab could never do this, but then, Tucker was supposed to be an expert, right?

“Tha-that’s amazing...” he murmured at Tucker’s expectant look. 

“ _That person Ed-ward..._ ,” the chimera continued in its chilling voice, picking up speed, “ _That person Ed-ward, that person Ed-ward._ ”

Ed took a step back, instincts telling him to flee. 

“ _Big brother Ed..._ ”

Ed’s mouth opened, a shaky breath escaping like a soul. He stared at the creature, and it stared back. Ed felt as though someone had transmuted his guts to ice. 

“Mr. Tucker?” He asked, eyes still locked with the chimera, “When did you first get your state certification?”

“Let’s see...it was two years ago.”

“And when did your wife leave you?”

“...That was...two years ago also.” 

Ed nodded, “One more question. Where are Nina and Alexander?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoomp there it is. I feel cruel for leaving you here, but I think this is the better cut off than the next best place to stop, so I apologize for that.


	17. Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed wanders the streets, trying to think of a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for blood violence and excessive italics

Tucker’s back slammed against the wall from the force of Ed grabbing his shirt. Ed’s hands shook with his fury and disgust. He’d never seen a chimera so botched. He thought he’d seen the worst of human animal hybrids, but Nina took the cake, and from the hands of her own father!

“I get it now!” He snapped, “First your wife, now your daughter?!” 

Tucker squirmed under Ed’s grip. 

“Animals can only do so much after all! It’s much easier when you start with a _human_ , isn’t it?!” He jerked Tucker into the wall. 

Tucker grimaced, almost a smile, “But, Edward, I thought you wanted to study chimeras, wouldn’t you be interesting in progression?”

“ _Progression?_ This isn’t progression this is unethical! It’s child abuse!” Ed quaked. 

“Sometimes we alchemists must forget ethics to produce results.”

“Shut up!” Ed slugged him with his right fist, crunching against Tucker’s nose. 

“We aren’t even in the same league!” Ed growled, dropping Tucker to the floor and stumbling back. His chest held a vice grip on his lungs and sweat poured down his face and neck. Phantom pain of being combined with the lion ghosted over his body, and his stomach churned at the thought of Nina held down like he was, trusting her father only to be overwhelmed with pain and horror. A nasty taste invaded Ed’s mouth at the idea that she had suffered worse pain than him. 

“I’m an alchemist!” Ed yelled, “You’re a criminal!”

He coughed as the anger manifested physically. Claws pushed out of his finger tips, and fangs nicked his lips. Tucker’s eyes widened in horror at Ed’s split pupil and his lengthening hair. 

“I’m a _person!_ ” Ed brought his clawed hand down on Tucker’s raised arms, “You’re a _monster._ ”

Tucker’s mouth hung open lamely, blood streaming from his arms, “What...what are you?” His voice trembled. 

“Better than what you can make,” Ed hissed, grabbing one of Tucker’s arms and pulling him forward with talons sunk in the flesh. 

Tucker whimpered pathetically. 

“Do you understand what you’ve done?” Ed’s voice was low, simmering, “Do you understand that the military knows so much more about chimeras than you do? Do you know how much it _hurts,_ ” his voice broke, “to be made into this? Do you understand how vile you are to do that to a _little girl?_ ”

Tucker said nothing. 

Ed threw him back, “Do you?!”

Tucker just put his arms up and Ed gladly tore into them once more, crying out wordlessly. 

He’d have gone on until Tucker was ribbons and pulp if not for the tug on the hem of his shirt. He froze and craned his head down to Nina and Alexander staring up at him. A tiny keen exited his throat. 

“ _Ed-ward...stop...daddy hurt...no._ ”

A dry sob that sounded almost like a laugh jumped from Ed’s throat. He stumbled back until his back hit a wall and slid down it like a puppet with cut strings. His breath came in quick gasps as he buried his fingers in his hair, blood running down the left side where his claws dug into his scalp. She was right, he had to stop. He wasn’t a killer. He wasn’t going to be a monster, he was a person, dammit! 

He whined and pressed his face into his knees, tugging furiously at his hair, but what were they going to do?! As much as Ed wanted to show the military all of Tucker’s crimes so that he could be buried away in prison, he knew they’d just snatch up Nina and take her to a lab. He couldn’t let them do that to her. 

He lifted his head and willed his animal half to retreat, “N-Nina?”

The chimera canted her head.

“We have to go. Let’s get out of here.”

“ _But what about daddy...?_ ”

Ed choked back the rage that bubbled back up, “Daddy hurt you, so big brother Ed has to take you away and keep you safe.”

Tears welled in her blank eyes, “ _Don’t want...to leave Daddy!_ ”

Ed cursed under his breath, “I know...I know, but you trust your big brother right?”

“ _...y-yes?_ ”

He reached out a trembling hand, “Then please let me help you.”

“ _Ed make the hurt stop?_ ”

He dropped his head for a moment with a gust of air. He wasn’t strong enough for this, “Yes. Yes, I’ll help make the hurt stop.”

She put her head in his hand. 

“Thank you, Nina,” he whispered, standing up, “Stay close to me, ok?”

She nodded and began to trail after Ed. He ushered her out of the door and spit on Tucker’s shivering form behind her back. 

—

Ed walked as briskly as he could with Nina’s awkward gait beside him. He’d tied his red coat around her neck in an attempt to keep her more hidden and dry in the down pour, and they’d taken the route down by the water rather than walking on street level. It wasn’t the best cover, but it was better than the sidewalk. Still, Ed didn’t know _where_ they were going. He couldn’t hide her on the train, and they couldn’t possibly walk to Dublith in this weather with no supplies and with Nina’s condition. He’d figure out something though, he always did, he had too. 

Maybe they could get to a pay phone and call Gre-

“You there,” a voice called.

Ed hunched his shoulders and picked up the pace as much as he dared, “Keep going, Nina.”

“Hey, kid with the dog!”

“ _I’m...not-_ ”

“Shh,” Ed chided. 

The man’s footsteps didn’t let up, “I’m talking to you.”

“Not great weather for conversation, thanks,” Ed threw over his shoulder. 

“You’re Edward Elric, right?”

Great, he’d been recognized. He turned towards the man, “Huh?”

In the rain, he couldn’t make out too much about bystander some paces back, but he was tall, and squared, and too threatening for Ed’s liking. 

“You’re the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, are you not?” The man walked closer, one hand in his pocket, the other hanging by his side. Sunglasses shielded his eyes, and a jagged scar crossed his face. 

“Listen, I’m just trying to get home before this rain gets w-“

The man brought his hand up with a crack and lunged for Ed who sidestepped out of the way, “Hey!”

The man’s hand met the wall, and to Ed’s horror, a crater formed there in a brilliant explosion of energy and debris. 

Ed blinked away his surprise, clapping and bringing up a wall between him and the stranger. Cautiously, he and Nina backed away, but then the wall blew apart and Ed shielded Nina, grunting when a chunk of cobblestone hit his back. 

The man stalked forward, knuckles snapping and popping, and Ed didn’t want to find out what would happen if he touched skin, “Nina, the stairs, go!” He shouted, turning and running after the panicked chimera. He pushed ahead of her to the top of the steps intent on helping her up the last few as she struggled, but he found himself pulling her up entirely as the scarred man destroyed the stair case. Nina yelped and flailed in Ed’s grasp and he dragged her, “C’mon, follow me,” he shouted when she’d found her footing. 

She bounded after him along the, thankfully, empty street, their feet splashing through puddles, “What’s with that guy?!” Ed muttered under his breath, “What did I ever do to piss him off?”

Nina panted and whined in response. 

Spotting a good looking alley, Ed pointed down it and said, “Quick over there!”

The alley led to a dead end, much to Ed’s annoyance, but he could probably work with it, right? 

He lifted the lid of a dumpster against the wall and gestured for Nina to get in, “Here, hide.”

“ _Trash...gross..._ ”

He scrubbed his flesh hand over his face, “I’ll get you a bath later, but you have to hide right now, please.”

She nodded a little and Ed scrambled to lift her in. As soon as he’d closed the lid, footsteps echoed from the mouth of the alley. Ed spun and flared at the pursuer. 

“What’s your problem?!” Ed demanded. 

“Think of it this way: if there’s someone that created you, there is someone who will destroy you, as well.”

“...What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Ed shouted down the alleyway.

The man ignored him and rushed towards Ed. Ed dodged again and prepared to clap, but the man’s grip crushed around his right arm. The energy flashed and crackled, sending Ed tumbling out into the street, but he stood up unharmed. He shrugged off his jacket and took his glove off with his teeth, clapping and forming a blade. 

The man muttered to himself about something, but Ed didn’t care, he needed to end this fight and get out of here. He sprinted forward. 

Once again the man caught Ed, holding him by the wrist and shoulder. 

“I’ll just have to destroy this annoying arm of yours first.” 

Numbing electricity shot up into what was left of his shoulder as he fell back under a shower of metal bits and wires. He stared at the shattered remains of his arm. Winry was gonna kill him. 

The man towered over Ed and advanced. 

Heart leaping up to his throat, Ed scrambled to back up, jolted muscles screaming at the movement. In his panic, he forgot about the missing arm and toppled over onto his port. The abused metal sent another shock through his body on impact, and forced a short cry from his lips. 

“I’ll give you a moment to pray to God,” the man’s deep voice rumbled. 

Ed grit his teeth, bitterness curling up his throat at the thought of the unfair bastard. He pulled his feet under himself and sprang up, stumbling a bit and reaching into his boot. He ignored the sting he left on his calf as he brought his knife out of its sheath and brandished it with shaking hand at his attacker, “I’m agnostic,” he snarled, trying his best not to sway. 

“Fair enough,” the man stalked forward with a raised hand. 

“Stay back!” Ed shouted, “I’m warning you!” He waved his knife, but couldn’t land a hit on the stranger who dodged as easily as a ballerina danced. 

The screech of tires skidding on road made the pair stop and snap their heads towards the oncoming traffic. Men in uniform leaned out the windows of one car and shot at the man. Ed dropped immediately at the onslaught while the man weaved and bobbed backwards. 

Out of the second car, Mustang and his team streamed out with a shirtless man Ed hadn’t met yet, “I’ve got Fullmetal! Everyone else after him!” Mustang demanded, waving everyone past. They chased past Ed and pursued the fleeing man. 

“DO NOT WORRY, YOUNG EDWARD ELRIC!” The shirtless man shouted as he raced by, punching the ground and pushing himself forward with rock pillars, “WE WILL STOP THIS CRIMINAL!”

Ed blinked and stared down the street. 

“You’re ok,” Mustang’s voice causes Ed to snap out of his stupor and towards his superior, now much closer, “Right? No injuries?”

Ed glared and pointed towards his empty port. 

“Besides that.”

Ed pushed himself up, “Bruises and scratches,” he tensed suddenly, “But, Colonel, you have to arrest Mr. Tucker! He-“

“Shou Tucker’s dead.”

Ed’s jaw dropped, “Wh-What?!” 

He couldn’t have-he didn’t-

Mustang’s face was grim, “Havoc went to pick you up and found Tucker dead. There were blood splatters that matched that work of Scar, that man that attacked you...but Havoc noted he had lacerations in his arms like he’d been attacked by an animal,” he turned dark eyes on Ed, “You wouldn’t know about that, would you?”

“S-so the cuts didn’t kill him?”

Mustang shook his head. 

Ed pushed a hand through his hair with a shaky laugh, reopening the cuts there and bloodying his face and hair where the rain had previously washed it away. He shivered, but stiffened when the colonel’s jacket settled over his shoulders. 

“What happened there, Edward” he demanded, “Havoc said he couldn’t find Tucker’s daughter or his dog. What happened.” 

Ed drew the jacket closer to himself, “Follow me,” he led Mustang into the alleyway and placed his hand on the lid of the dumpster, “This is strictly between us. Don’t freak out.”

Mustang didn’t blink, “We’ll see.”

Ed sighed and lifted the lid. 

“ _Big brother...?_ ”

“Holy shit,” Mustang breathed. 

“This is Nina...and Alexander...Tucker made them into a chimera, and he did the same thing with his wife two years ago!” 

“What the fuck,” Mustang shook his head. 

Nina rested her front legs on the lip of the dumpster, pulling herself up. 

“Hey, is it safe now-...oh.”

Mustang and Ed swiveled to find Hughes standing at the entrance of the alley. 

“Maes!”

“Lieutenant Colonel!”

“I uh, yeah...what is that?”

Ed clutched at his shirt, “You guys can’t tell anyone! Please! She can’t go to the labs! She can’t!” He pleaded desperately with the two men. 

Hughes held up a hand, “Whoa, Edward, calm down, what’s going on?”

Ed sped on into the story of Tucker and how he found Nina. The look of sickness and rage that passed Hughes’s face would stay with Ed the rest of his life. 

“How...how could someone do that to their own daughter?” Hughes’s voice shook, and he glared past the group with eyes made of molten emerald, “I hope he rots in hell for that.”

Nina whimpered. 

“Right,” Mustang brought his attention back to the situation at hand, “What to do with her?”

“I can take her back to Dublith, she’ll be safe there, they won’t turn her away,” Ed nodded at Mustang. 

“Dublith?” Hughes asked. 

“Yes, but _how_ do you plan on getting her there?” Mustang continued. 

“I don’t...know yet.”

“Well we can’t get her there right now, so we’ll have to figure out something to do-“

“She can stay with me for a bit,” Hughes interjected. 

“Maes, what about your wife and kid?”

Hughes shook his head, “Gracia and Elicia are still out of town for a few days, as long as we get this Nina situation settled before then, she can stay.”

Ed deflated, falling against the dumpster, relief sagging his shoulders, “Thank you, sir.” Nina licked his face. 

“On one condition,” Hughes prompted, “You tell me about yourself and Dublith and your role in all of this.”

Ed bit his lip, “Yes, sir.”

“We can take my car, we’ll just have to call for one for when everyone gets back, hopefully with Scar,” Mustang dragged a hand down his face, “Come on.”

Hughes helped Ed pull Nina out of the dumpster while Mustang adjusted the seats in the car for her to be more comfortable in the back with Ed. 

The drive to Hughes’s house could only be described as heart-stopping with Mustang behind the wheel (where was Jean when you needed him?), but they made it there in one piece. The rain had even stopped. 

He stepped out of the car to watch the street as Ed and Hughes coaxed Nina into the house. They drew her a bath and washed the rain and trash from her fur before mopping up the floor where she’d left prints. After that, Mustang bid his farewell, and Ed made two mugs and a bowl of the tea Bido’d given him. 

They sat in silence around Hughes’s dining room table. Ed hunched over his mug, Hughes solemn, and Nina lapping quietly. 

“ _Big brother?_ ” she asked hesitantly. 

“Yeah?”

“ _Can I...have a coo...kie?_ ”

Ed hunched further in on himself and choked out a quiet, “No...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray Nina! You live another day!  
> oh and I forgot to mention this last time but we’re novel length baby!


	18. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed explains his story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say, this is a really interesting chapter that definitely didn’t go the direction I’d had planned for it, but I think it has some great moments. 
> 
> See bottom notes for content warnings

They’d injected Al with something. It made blood drip from his nose, and his throat to gag even after nothing was left. He’d gone delirious for the past day, eyes fever bright. Ed held him close and shushed him when he asked for Mom. 

This wasn’t exactly new, but it scared the hell out of Ed every time it happened, and he knew it scared Al when they reversed rolls. They couldn’t afford to fall into routine, not when each experiment might be the last, so tension moved into Ed’s muscles and built a house. 

Martel dabbed the dirty rag in her precious water ration again, wrung it out, and settled it on Al’s forehead , “He’ll be alright, Ed, he always is.”

“You can’t know that,” Ed murmured, squeezing Al as a wave of shudders ran through his body. 

Mattel sighed, “I know, but he’s strong.”

“I know that,” Ed spat. 

The door opened then, unmaintained hinges announcing the scientist in its frame. She looked down at her clip board, then into the sea of heads swiveled towards her until she found the one who hadn’t bothered to move. She called out Ed’s number. 

“No.” Ed spoke softly, hunching over his brother. 

“I’ll watch him, Ed, it’s ok,” Martel reached out with her long arms. 

“I said no,” Ed repeated, firmer now. 

“Be reasonable,” Martel hissed, “You’re only going to get yourself more hurt, and then how will you watch after your brother?”

The scientist called again, annoyance laced in her voice. 

“I’m not going,” Ed spoke loud enough for the woman to hear him. 

“I don’t have all day, let’s go,” she tapped her foot. 

“I’m not leaving him.”

The woman huffed, “Guards.”

A large hand clamped around Ed’s shoulder, and he did his best not to be moved, he really did. The hand tore him from his brother, whose head hit the floor with a soft clack. Ed yelled and struggled against the guard with fire he hadn’t had in weeks. Maybe he’d found the last straw, maybe it was because of the condition they’d sent Bido back with yesterday, or maybe it was because Dol had landed himself in solitary for the second time this month, but he just. Didn’t. Want. To. Go. 

He’d earned a rough slap for biting, and could feel the familiar scrapes forming on the back of his legs as he dragged across the room, but he couldn’t make himself shut up. 

“My, you talk a lot for a chimera, don’t you?” The doctor noted with a hum of amusement as Ed was tossed on the examination table like a sack of potatoes. 

Ed glared at the ceiling, blowing a strand of hair from his eyes as the familiar feeling of straps crossed his chest and legs, “Take my voice box out then, fucker.”

“Now, Edward-“

They didn’t use his name here. 

“That’s no way to speak around children.”

What?

Ed lifted his head and went cold at the sight of Tucker cleaning tools at the foot of the table. Stomach clenched in knots, he turned his face to the side with wide eyes. Nina sat buckled to a chair with Alexander tied to a post not far off. She smiled and waved with a giggle while Alexander barked in greeting. Underneath Nina’s swinging feet, was a transmutation circle that matched the one under Alexander. 

“S-stop,” Ed forced through the breath seized in his throat, “Don’t do it, please,” he begged at Tucker. 

“But, Edward, it’s not everyday I’m given the chance to test out a two person transmutation.”

Ed leaned the best he could over the edge of the table and found an array under himself, connected to Nina and Alexander’s. 

He gasped in horror and began to struggle against the bindings he knew he had no hope of breaking, “You can’t-! She’s just a little girl! Your daughter!” Ed begged, panic rising up his chest to squeeze his throat tight. 

“Big Brother, what’s wrong?” Nina asked innocently, “We’re going to help Daddy, then we’re going to play!”

Ed sputtered and whimpered half formed words, desperately pulling against the leather that smelled like Roa on a hot day, but had none of the warmth of his embrace. 

The array lit up. 

Ed screamed. 

—

“Ed! Ed! Edward! Calm down please!”

Ed shot his eyes open, fighting against whatever held him down, “You can’t! You can’t!” His throat felt raw. 

“I won’t! I won’t, Ed! Whatever it is! I won’t!” The foggy voice called, “You’re safe! It’s ok!”

Safe?

“Where’s Dol? Where’s Greed?” The questions slipped out. 

“I...I don’t know them, but it’s me, Hughes,” the voice was soft. 

“...oh.”

Ed squirmed but didn’t fight, and Hughes let go of him immediately. Ed curled on his side. 

“You were screaming.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

Hughes sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing between his eyes, “Kid,” he began, sitting on the edge of Ed’s bed, “You don’t have to be sorry about that. I’m just worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” 

“Ok, no you’re not,” Hughes sounded tired, “You have claws.”

Ed startled and looked down on his hand. Sure enough, he’d grown claws in his damn sleep. He curled tight enough to press his head to his knees. 

“I’m not angry,” Hughes started.

“You’re not scared?” Ed asked meekly. 

Hughes sighed again, “I’m a little freaked out, Ed. I’m harboring a talking chimera from the state, and my house guest was just screaming in his sleep and sprouted claws. But I’m not scared _of_ you, I’m scared _for_.”

Ed shuddered. 

“Does this happen a lot?” Hughes asked. 

“Not the claws. Not the screaming.”

Hughes hummed in acknowledgment, “Listen, Ed. I think you’re a great kid, and I respect you-“

Ed tightened up, preparing to be kicked out or sent back to the labs.

“-but I think you owe me an explanation.”

Air escaped Ed’s lungs in a gust of shock and relief. 

“How about we go downstairs and talk about this over hot coco, deal?”

Ed couldn’t bring himself to remind Hughes that they’d already made a deal, Nina’s safety for info. He slowly uncurled. 

—

Maes felt sick for the second time in twenty-four hours as he listen to Ed recount his tale. The boy rubbed his cooling mug with his thumb as he rattled off the tale about he and his brother’s capture, the transmutation, the tests that ranged from stamina exams to taking bone marrow, befriending the other chimeras, Greed breaking them out (though Hughes couldn’t even begin to understand how homunculi worked), the bar, his arm. 

Suddenly a twelve year old fighting to get into the military didn’t seem so strange. Ed’s motivations checked out. Maes cleaned his glasses solemnly. 

“You know, when I first met you, I couldn’t understand you at all. I couldn’t understand why a kid wanted to join the military,” he glanced up at the boy, “It’s not pretty, Ed. I even hoped that you’d fail the exam,” Ed glared sharply, “and learn that this was no place for a boy. I still don’t like that you’re in the military, I don’t think I ever will, but now I understand you. I understand what you need to do.”

Ed graced him with a hopeful look. 

“I won’t tell the higher ups about any of this. I’m disgusted to know that the government I serve has been torturing and experimenting on our citizens right under our noses,” Maes locked eyes with his guest, “But I assure you, Ed, change is going to come. And when it does, you’ll see justice and a lack of corruption, and I’ll see to it personally that these crimes and any other unethical actions are exposed for what they are.”

Ed’s head sagged between his shoulders, “Thank you, sir,” he whispered. 

Maes leaned over and patted Ed’s flesh shoulder, “How about we get you back to bed then?” 

Ed nodded and allowed himself to be guided back to his room. 

“I’m going to drive you and Nina to Dublith tomorrow. You think you can direct me to this bar?”

Ed gave a thumbs up from the bed. 

“Good. Try to get some sleep, good night.”

“G’night.”

Maes shut the guest room for with a soft click and padded down the hall to Elicia’s room. He peered inside, finding Nina curled up on the plush rug as he’d left her. He watched until he saw a satisfactory rise and fall of her chest. Making it back to his own room, his bed had never felt so empty. Gracia would know what to do. She’d know exactly how to sooth Ed and treat Nina. Most importantly, she’s know exactly what to say to keep Maes from falling apart from it all. 

He sunk into the side of the bed, cradling his face in his hands. Not in his wildest dreams, could he have ever imagined the situation he’d landed in. It was like something out of the horror novels he used to read as a kid, except he couldn’t scream and cry about the atrocity of it all. He had to keep a strong face for these kids, even when he wanted to recoil. 

He flopped over with an arm slung over his eyes and tried not to dream of something like this happening to his own wife and child. 

—

“And that’s when he knocked over the fence.”

“Noooo,” Greed leaned on the bar and looked at where Al pouted from the top of the stairs, “All that to look cool?”

“Yes,” Izumi nodded with a sharp grin. 

Greed leaned back and laughed, “What’s that thing people say? Kids do uh...the uh,” he snapped his fingers at the air. 

“The darndest things,” Dolcetto finished from where he leaned against the countertop. 

Greed directed his next snap at Dol, “Yes! That’s the one!”

Dolcetto down the rest of drink and set the glass down, “I’m going on shift. Don’t tell any juicy stories without me.”

“Then what are we supposed to talk about?” Greed called at Dolcetto’s back. 

He shrugged, “I dunno, talk about your lovers or something.”

“ _You_ really want me to do that?”

Dol flicked him off and pushed the door open, catching Greed tell Al he didn’t need to lean on fences to be cool, he already was. 

Quickly, but not as a quickly as Bido, Dolcetto scaled the building across the alley and settled on his usual place on the roof. Hours passed in relative calm, not many people came by on Sunday, after all. 

Soon enough, he found himself staring at the sky with an arm under his head and a pipe in his mouth, relying on sound more than anything else to do his job. He blew a ring towards the setting sun and thought about Ed. He hoped his lack of calls meant he was hard at work, not dead in a ditch somewhere. He didn’t worry himself too much, though. Ed was tough and could take care of himself. 

More so than anything, he wondered if Ed could or world find the answers he sought. Dolcetto couldn’t complain much about the hand life had dealt him. He’d joined the military in a bid for money to support himself and regretted it almost instantly. Dragging himself through training proved difficult enough, but then when the war started? Forget it, he’d entered hell. 

He’d always had a soft spot for kids, so when he froze up at the order to shoot down children-children Al’s age...and younger-he’d been smacked by his commanding officer until his finger squeezed the trigger and sent a bullet straight into the wall, a clean three feet from the head of a terrified preteen. 

In training, he’d hated how everyone knew him as the worst shot, but on the field he felt blessed to slip into his stereotype and always just miss the under five foot targets in front of him. It gave him some sense of morals in a senseless, godless wasteland. He did his best to hold onto that even when ten seconds later, the man two people down from him hit what Dolcetto couldn’t , and gloated about his numbers to his pals back at camp while Dol stared at his boots with twitching hands. 

He’d do anything to get away from the horrors. 

So when the crazed Ishvalan rushed at him with a Molotov, not even bothering to throw it, Dolcetto welcomed the death it would bring. Anything to get away from the blazing sun and the stink of rotting, bloated bodies. Anything to get away from the wide red eyes that stared back at him from across the sandbag wall and in his dreams. 

He got away. Dragged across the field, blacked out and bleeding. 

Several surgeries later, he woke up on a transmutation circle, and the military wiped red from his vision. 

The labs served as no walk in the park, but at least innocent blood didn’t stain his hands there. It hurt and it wore him down to nights curled in the corner screaming for a family he could hardly remember. 

When the boys showed up, Dolcetto felt like he had purpose again. He could live to help them, he could at least protect these two kids to the best of his ability. He’d never considered the idea of having children, could never imagine finding someone who wanted to commit to him, much less raise a family together, and the idea didn’t appeal to him much anyway, but when Ed flashed him an all too rare smile, or Al fell asleep against his shoulder, he thought it might not be that bad. 

Nowadays, he almost felt brave enough to say he enjoyed life. He hardly had to actually fight anyone, and the bar atmosphere surrounded him with good times and good friends. The whole dog thing kinda sucked, but it honestly didn’t affect him much, and he could imagine himself living the rest of his life without much issue over it. 

But the boys on the other hand. They were just that, boys. They deserved, needed, to have their normal life, and while they hadn’t come to the lab as normal kids with normal childhoods, they deserved to at least not grow up in a bar with an animal fused into their body. It drove Ed up the wall and into desperation, and Dolcetto could tell Al squashed down chronic pain for his brother’s sake. Dolcetto didn’t need a cure for all this, but those boys did, so he prayed to a god he no longer believed in, that they may reverse this mess. 

His ear twitched suddenly at the sound of a distant car. Not many people drove down this street. He sat up and turned around, waiting for the approaching vehicle. It parked between him and the bar, and a man stepped out from the drivers side. His button up and dress pants were crisp, and his dark hair well kept and tidy. He didn’t look like the usual crowd, and no one parked in the middle of the street to get a drink. 

Silently, Dolcetto dropped down behind him, sword out. He surged forward, and grabbed the man, hovering his blade just above the soft flesh of the man’s throat. 

“You lost, buddy?” He asked into the stranger’s ear. 

“Whoa! Whoa, Dolcetto! Quit it!”

He turned his head to see Ed jumping to be seen over the other side of the car, waving one arm around frantically. 

Then a startled, warped, unearthly yelp came muffled from behind the backseat window. It caught Dolcetto’s attention with the way the sounds sent chills up his arms, and the sight had him dropping his weapon and stumbling back until he hit a wall. 

He knew instantly what he was looking at, but desperately wished to be wrong. 

Horror crept ice into his gut as his eyes stared back into the worst human chimera he’d ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s notes: in case it wasn’t clear, dogs are unable to see red. 
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoyed a deeper look into Dolcetto’s character, and I’ve finally added a tag for Hughes, seeing as he’s become a pretty big player in this story. Hope you enjoyed!
> 
>  
> 
> Warnings: mention of injections, depictions of restraint, non graphic mentions of child death, cannon typical depictions of Ishval


	19. Settle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina arrives at the Devil’s Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy here it is! I’ve been waiting so long for this! 
> 
> Also Warning for this chapter: there is some underage drinking in this chapter, but it’s really short and there’s no description of any effects of drinking

“Dol? Dolcetto? I’m gonna need you to calm down,” the voice was muffled against the blood roaring in his ears, “Can you do that, for me?”

He blinked and looked down at Ed who had somehow teleported in front of him now and had one hand hovering as if unsure what to do with it. The man from the car watched him cautiously, hand near his belt. 

“I uh...what the fuck is going on, kid?” Dolcetto asked, “Wh-where’d you get them?”

“I’ll explain everything, but for right now, I don’t think we should be in the streets.”

There was something in the kid’s eyes, something haunted and hollow that made Dolcetto swallow nervously. Obviously his first adventure with the military didn’t go as planned. He didn’t know what had happened, but with Ed’s missing arm and shaken gaze, Dolcetto nodded slowly. 

“Pull the car into the alleyway, we’ll take the sewers.”

The man quickly ducked into the car and drove it forward into the shadowy dead end. When he got out, he made his way over to Dolcetto while Ed took to freeing the chimera from the car. 

“I’m Lieutenant Colonel Hughes,” the man said, sticking his hand out. 

Dolcetto gave it a look before going back to securing his sword in his belt. 

“Right.” Hughes ran the hand through his hair instead. “Ed’s told me a lot of horrible things, things that make me reconsider my path in life. I know it’s not really a consolation, but I’m going to do my best to investigate this issue and bring you all justice someday.”

Dolcetto huffed, “Don’t bother. We’re fine how we are, and the deed’s done. You’re only going to get yourself hurt by putting your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Maybe.” Hughes shrugged, “But it comes with the territory.”

Ed came back then with the chimera stumbling besides him. Now that Dolcetto could see it clearly, he wanted to shrink back from the poor creature. It walked stiffly and awkwardly, not used to its own body. Its brown hair was stringy and limp, and those eyes could reach into a man’s soul. 

Ed crouched down to eye level with it and pointed at him. “Nina, that’s Dolcetto. He’s a friend. Like us. Dolcetto. Got it?”

“Uh...hi,” Dolcetto said. 

“ _Dol...cetto..._ ”

Dolcetto cringed back at his own name. This thing-Nina, he corrected himself, had the most chilling voice he’d heard, as if the vocal cords hadn’t even fused well. 

“Yes! He’s going to take us to a place that safe, where you’ll be safe.”

“ _...safe._ ”

“Mhm,” Ed hummed, standing and motioning for Dolcetto to lead on, “And you’ll meet Roa, and I bet he’ll make you some really good peanut butter cookies!”

“ _Yay...coo...kies!_!” Nina jumped a little as she followed the group towards the sewer entrance. 

“Yeah! And then you’ll meet your big brother Al!”

Nina cocked her head. “ _Big brother Al...?_ ”

“Yes! He’s my brother, my little brother, but still bigger than you, so big brother for you.”

Nina blinked.

“Anyway, you’re gonna love him! He’s the best! Super strong, and brave, and smart, and he’s always wanted a little brother, but I’m sure he’ll be just as happy with a sister. Maybe he can finally annoy someone other than me for once!” 

Ed laughed, but Dolcetto could tell it was half forced. He didn’t like anything about this. If Al was older than Nina, how old was she? At least Ed seemed to care a lot about her as he helped her hobble down the steps. She’d need care. 

Dolcetto brought them up to the store room. Luckily no one was tied to the chair for interrogation today. That probably wouldn’t go over well. The military man probably wouldn’t find anything incriminating in the time it took Dolcetto to call a meeting, still he led them to the table that had an open box of chips on it. He could smell Blondie’s fingerprints all over it. He’d have to smack him for digging through the stock again. 

“Help yourself to some chips, I’m going to get the boss, hang on. Don’t touch anything.” He eyed Hughes who put up open hands. 

Roa raised an eyebrow when Dol came into the kitchen from the back instead of the front. 

“Everything ok?”

Dolcetto shrugged. “I mean I’m pretty sure we’re safe, but Ed’s back and we’ve got a situation.”

Roa reached across the stove and turned it off, moving his pan off the heat. “Why’s it always Ed who has the situations?” he muttered. 

“Wait here, I’m gonna grab the rest of the gang.” Dolcetto moved on to the main part of the bar. 

“Ok but none of your silly little stories compare to the time Ed accidentally spilled chili on this poor girl he was supposed to be serving, and he tried to clean this steaming meat soup off her chest, babbling apologies, but he’s just making it worse with his meager napkins. Then he realizes he’s been touching all over her boobs, and the apologizing gets worse and he stumbles back and knocks a table, spilling a drink in this guy’s lap and it’s just a disaster!” Greed explained to Izumi, leaning on his elbows. 

“That is quite this disaster,” she agreed. 

“You know Ed would kill you if he knew you were telling that story,” Dolcetto interjected, coming up to stand besides his boss. 

“Pfft, ha!” Greed laughed, “He couldn’t kill me if he tried! Anyway,” he looked Dolcetto over, “aren’t you supposed to be on duty?” 

“I was,” Dolcetto said lowly, “but I we need a meeting.”

Greed pursed his lips and nodded. “Ok I’ll gather everyone.”

“Hey, excuse me,” Izumi called out at the men turned to leave, “What’s going on here?”

“Important Nest business,” Greed put his hands on his hips. “Need to know, business, and you don’t need to know.”

Izumi stood. “Is it about Ed?”

Greed looked at Dol with raised eyebrows. 

Dolcetto sighed, “Yeah.”

“Then I’m coming.” Izumi crossed her arms and walked to the end of the bar. 

Greed blocked her path, crossing his arms as well. “Sorry, are you in the Greed Gang? I didn’t think so.”

Izumi pressed her hand against his face and pushed him back, moving herself towards the kitchen. 

Greed sputtered but didn’t stop her. He didn’t fight women after all. 

—

Al barreled into Ed, not caring about anyone else in the room. 

“Brother!” He cried cheerfully, “I missed you!”

Ed gripped his brother back, reveling in the momentary comfort of a hug. Over Al’s shoulder he could see the group gathered against the wall. They stared with open shock and sickening fascination and it made Ed’s stomach drop to think about the tale he’d have to tell. He felt like all he ever did anymore was explain things to people, painful things. It was one thing to explain Nina to Hughes, but another to explain to those he knew had suffered like him, like her. 

Ed took a deep breath and pulled away from the embrace. “I’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Al.”

Al seemed to notice then, the strangers in Ed’s wake. He blinked once, twice. “Yeah, you do.”

When Al had backed up enough to join the audience, Ed began his tale, “Everyone, this is Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.” He waved at the man. “He’s a friend, and will not bring us harm. Mostly he’s here because I needed a ride.”

Hughes cleared his throat and smiled at the crowd. “I know my presence probably isn’t welcome here, but I’ve heard so much about you all,” he said with eyes locked on Al, “I already told Dolcetto, but I’d very much like to be able to help bring some justice to you all.”

The crowd remained silent and looked anywhere but at Hughes. Greed crossed his arms. 

“Right.” Ed nodded. “As you may or may not know, I have spent the past few weeks studying the work and library of the public leader of chimera research, Shou Tucker. There I met his daughter, Nina, and their dog, Alexander.”

Dolcetto stiffened. 

“Unfortunately, Tucker’s claim to fame, his talking chimera that spoke once then starved itself, was his wife. Two years later, he’d try to up his game and,” Ed took a shaking breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment, “decided to combine Nina and Alexander...”

The tension in the room pulled tight as a bow string as they stared in horror and disgust at the story Ed rattled off. 

“H...how old?” Dolcetto asked, voicing the question that had been at the back of his mind. 

Ed glared at the ground. “Four.”

A gasp rippled through the audience. Dolcetto shoved a hand into his hair and whined. 

“What kind of monster,” Izumi began, voice dripping with venom and hatred, “does that to his own daughter?! Doesn’t he understand what a gift children are?!” Her voice trembled and Ed saw an unshakable woman shook. 

Murmurs and hushed voices began to break out as everyone tried to swallow the revelation that someone would turn their four year old into such a twisted creature. Al stared forward, worrying his lip between his teeth. He watched Nina look nervously at Ed, tail between her legs, and then down at her feet. 

“They’re not mad at you,” Ed told her, “They’re mad at the world for letting this happen.”

Al released his lip and strode forward, squatting to eye level with Nina. His heart broke a million times over for her, and fire ran through his veins in rage, but she didn’t need condolences, words of pity. What she needed was friends. 

“Hi, I’m Alphonse. I’m Ed’s brother.” he smiled and put his hand out without thinking. He stiffened at the possible offense and his smile fell, but before he could retreat his gesture, Nina put a soft, hulking paw into his palm. Al grinned again. 

“ _Al...phonse..._ ” she echoed back at him, “ _Big brother Al?_ ”

Al leaned back a bit and looked towards Ed. “I...uh yeah...”

Ed shrugged. “She calls me brother, and you’re my brother.”

Al rolled his eyes and leaned towards Nina’s ear. “Between you and me, I’m way smarter than Ed.”

Martel slunk close next, Roa behind her. “I’m Martel, it’s nice to meet you.” She ruffled Nina’s hair and stuck her thumb back. “The big guy’s Roa, he not much of a conversationalist.”

Roa huffed. 

Nina perked up. “ _Coo...kies...!_ ”

The pair looked from Nina to each other. 

“No...his name’s Roa,” Martel pointed with a raised brow. 

Ed leaned into the conversation. “I told her about your amazing cooking and shared one of your cookies with her before...you know. She really like them!”

Nina bounced up and down, “ _Good! Good cooooookie!_ ”

A rare smile broke across the man’s cheeks. “Thank you very much, Ms. Nina. I’ll have to make you more.”

Nina’s tail wagged. “ _Yes, yes!_ ”

“Nina,” Dolcetto said, approaching her other side, “This is Bido.” He motioned at his friend who kept his tail wrapped against his legs. 

Nina looked him up and down. “ _Tail._ ”

Bido blink. “Uh...yes, I’m part lizard, see, and-“

“ _Tail friend._ ” she nodded adamantly. 

Bido brought his hands to his mouth with a dopey grin. “Yes.”

“Nina! Does that mean we’re soft ears friends?” Al asked cheerfully. 

“ _Yes._ ” She said seriously. 

Ed smiled warmly at the conversation between his friends. It felt good to see everyone taking so well to Nina. Still, he needed the boss man’s approval, so he looked towards Greed who spoke quietly to Izumi. 

Ed approached silently, not wanting to interrupt, but Izumi caught him in a tight hug as soon as he reached arm’s length. She didn’t say anything, just held him for a few moments before letting him go and giving him a quick pat to the cheek. Ed blinked, but managed a small smile at her. 

Turning to Greed, however, Ed squashed his sentimentalism and put his hands on his hips. “What? No grandiose introductory speech? No knocking your head off your shoulders?” He asked with a quirked eyebrow. 

Greed rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not gonna knock my head off in front of some scared kid. And half the stuff in my speech doesn’t matter to a four year old.”

“You’re not going to knock what off?” Izumi sputtered incredulously. 

Greed gave her a toothy grin. “Well I may have a touch of theatrics when it comes to proving I’m immortal.”

“Yeah, yeah great.” Ed shooed the head conversation away. “Can we keep her?” He asked, cringing at how much it sounded like he’d found a stray pet. 

“Huh? Yeah of course.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. Duh. Why wouldn’t I want more chimeras? Especially ones that unique?” Greed scoffed at Ed. 

Ed rolled his eyes. “Ok.” But then he stared more seriously, “Thank you, Greed.”

Greed shrugged, “It’s nothing. Don’t get sappy on me.”

—

Martel often spoke of something called a “woman’s intuition,” and how it seemed to give her a leg up when dealing with rival gangs. She’d get “gut feelings” that led her on hot trails or that got her out of danger. Izumi backed her up on its existence. She said she always seemed to know when Ed or Al were getting into trouble and that it was how she and her husband could so casually throw knives at each other. Bido swore by what he called “sixth sense” where someone needed to listen to that little voice in the back of their head. He said he’d been ignoring it when he’d decided to take a shortcut home through the alleys before he’d been snatched away to the labs. 

Greed didn’t really believe in any of this, and he couldn’t test out Bido’s theory when the only thing the voices in the back of his head did was scream in eternal agony. If there was a separate voice in there giving him hints and tips about his life, he couldn’t hear it. Also it’d be nice if it could speak up and tell him when to fold or toss in more chips once and awhile. 

But he figured he’s spent too much time with Izumi when he reasonlessly walked down to the bar long after closing time. 

After Greed confirmed that Nina could stay in his care, the military man, Hughes, gave his contact information and made his leave. Greed sent people back to work then, telling them to inform the staff that hadn’t come to the meeting about the new predicament they’d found themselves in. He led Nina to an empty room, but she hadn’t been in there an hour before trying to shamble down the stairs and ask to be with Ed. Greed thought maybe she gave him a heart attack as he scrambled to shove her back from public view. 

Now she should be sound a asleep on a pile of generously donated pillows between the Elrics’ beds. They’d have to find the fluffiest dog bed they could tomorrow since she struggled to climb up onto Ed’s and yelped as it strained her weak and honestly fucked up joints. Doc, not a professional on humans let alone animals, could even tell Nina’s body had issues like none of the rest did. Some twisted piece of her could give out and kill her tomorrow for all they knew. It was unnerving. 

She seemed like a good kid. She loved meeting new people and exploring the new space. Greed could only imagine these would be short distractions from the mess she’d just endured, but at least she seemed optimistic...or not fully aware of the horrors surrounding her. 

But Ed? Ed knew about the horror, and, from what Greed could tell when he reached the bottom of the stairs, wasn’t handling it well. 

The kid sat there at the bar with nothing but moonlight filtered from the windows to see by and a bottle tipped up to his lips

"No, no, no, what do you think you're doing?!" Greed dashed forward and wrestled the bottle out of the boy’s grip. "Trying to get me shut down for letting a twelve year old drink?! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Ed turned to him, and sakes alive, there were tears in his eyes. “Sorry.”

“How much did you have?” Greed inspected the bottle, trying to gage how much went missing. 

“I’m sorry! I-“

Greed turned his eyes sharply on Ed. “How much. Did you. Have?”

Ed threw up his hands. “Not a lot! I’ll pay for it ok-“

Greed’s eyes widened. “You think I give a shit about the alcohol, Ed? You think this is what this is about? I’m trying to make sure you didn’t just poison yourself, dumbass. You’re safety is a million times more valuable that some cheap booze I bought in bulk.”

Ed hugged his chest and blinked at Greed a few times before mumbling, “Only a couple mouthfuls, I swear.”

Greed sighed in relief. Maybe this whole having kids living in a bar wasn’t a very good idea. 

"I couldn't..." Ed hiccuped suddenly, "I couldn't stop him, Greed, I couldn't...it's my fault."

Greed looked up sharply at Ed’s quivering form. He looked so fucking small with one arm and his red coat practically swallowing him. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right that this Tucker bastard not only mutilated his four year old daughter and pet dog, but pushed a traumatized twelve year old to alcohol. He hadn’t seemed so stressed earlier today. "Hey, what did we talk about blaming yourself? Quit it, there's no way you could responsible for this."

"I should've figured it out sooner, if I just got there sooner..."

"Ed...you're just a kid, you can't be perfect."

Ed buried his face in his hand, shaking. "I haven't been a kid for two years..."

He pitched forward then, into Greed’s chest, and the homunculus stumbled a bit against the force and the surprise. His hands came up thoughtlessly to hold Ed steady. 

“I know, I know. I wish I’d realized earlier how much this was bothering you. Maybe we wouldn’t be here right now.”

Ed shook his head. “I don’t know...” He paused, “I just-“ the words ripped from him, raw and hurting, “I thought I was ok! But-but I was laying there looking at Al and everything messed up about him, and at Nina and-and it just came crashing down on me. How fucked up this all is! All the _hurt_ I’ve faced and the injustice and how I can’t stop being so selfish and self pitying when they’ve got it so _much_ worse! And it’s like I realized how not ok everything is! How not ok _I_ am.”

His shaking worsened, and at some point his fist found itself balled up in Greed’s vest. Greed was at a loss of what to do. His skill set didn’t really include comforting, and for all his charm, he didn’t think knew quite how to handle all this. 

Hesitantly, he raised one hand and placed it on Ed’s head. The boy gasped, but didn’t pull away. It seemed like a good sign. Greed slowly raked his fingers through Ed’s hair the way he’d once seen Roa do for Martel when the anniversary of the injury that sent her to the labs became far to much to handle. Ever so gently, he continued the motion. 

Ed bursted into tears. 

His cries came in ragged waves that convulsed his body. They painfully choked out of his shuddering chest like coughs. He gasped for uneven breath between sobs that forced themselves from his throat. Years worth of pain and fear gushed from his eyes and spilled from his mouth as he wept and wailed, fist beating clumsily against carbon. 

Greed just continued to stroke Ed’s hair with one hand, and hug him tight with the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we get some tears! I actually like how in Brotherhood, it’s a thing that Ed has repressed the ability to cry, and that is present here, but I think that in this context, with the Tucker plot being so much more personal, that this would reasonably push Ed over the edge and get him to cry. 
> 
> Next time: Al POV and hijinks


	20. Escapade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Al and Co get into some hijinks for Nina’s sake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVED BITCH
> 
> April fools? Nah we don’t play that way here. 
> 
> Can you believe it’s almost been a year since this ride started?
> 
> So sorry for disappearing for like 4 months! School and work have been killing me, which is why I disappeared initially. Then kingdom hearts 3 came out and it’s currently using up most of my creative energy. You gotta understand, I’ve been with that series since I was little. 
> 
> Anyway! I feel silly about this wait because I knew pretty much exactly what I wanted out of this chapter. I’m not planning on giving up on this series. I’ve got a plan, I’ve got scenes I want to write, but I’m not sure if I’ll have the same steam as I once did. 
> 
> If I ever plan on stopping, I’ll be transparent with you guys. I won’t leave you hanging. Just have faith and patience with me and we’ll get through.

Ed held the phone to his ear, tapping the receiver nervously. 

“Hello, Rockbell Automail, how can I help you?” 

“G’Morning, Win.”

“What happened now?” The familiar, chipper customer service tone dropped. 

“I uh...got into a fight.” Ed grimaced. 

“A fight?!” Winry’s sputtered, “Like a bar fight?”

“Ah...no.” Ed struggled to come up with something less worrying than a serial killer-still on the loose, no less-had tried to murder him, but came up short. “A crazy guy with insane alchemy abilities attacked me,” he sighed. 

“What?! Why?!”

“I don’t know,” Ed lied, Hughes had debriefed him on everything they knew, “I was hoping maybe you could make a house call?”

“That depends. How bad is it?”

“It uh...it’s shattered.”

Winry’s voice raised again, “Shattered?!”

“I told you he had crazy abilities. Better my arm than my head or something.” Ed shrugged. 

“Yeah, I guess! But, Ed, that’s terrifying.” Her voice was thin. 

“Yeah, but I’m fine. So, can you come over?”

Winry sighed, “I don’t know. If it’s that bad, that’s a lot of tools and materials to drag all that way. I mean, I’m looking at my map, and Dublith is-“

Ed yanked the phone from his ear as Winry squealed so loudly Ulchi pokes his head into the empty bar with concern. 

“Ok, here’s a deal, Edward Elric.” Winry’s smirk leaked through her voice, “You meet me at Rush Valley and I’ll do the repairs there.”

Ed groaned, “Why, though?”

“First of all, Rush Valley is like the holy city of automail mechanics, second, they’ll have plenty of supplies there on hand, and third, you owe this to me for obliterating my hard work.”

Ed rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

He quickly set up plans with Winry and stomped back up to his room. Nina lifted her head as he entered, but Al didn’t look up from his book. 

“So what did Winry say?” He asked. 

“I have to meet her at Rush Valley if I don’t want to trek out to Risembool,” Ed grumbled.

“Why?”

Ed pitched his voice up and put his hand on his hip. “Rush Valley is the holy land of automail and you owe me for breaking your arm.” He lowered his voice. “I didn’t ask to be involved in an attempted murder.” 

“You are so cranky in the morning,” Al grinned slyly. 

Ed waved him off, stuffing utilities into his suitcase. “Yeah, yeah, if anyone asks, you know where I am.”

“You be careful out there, ok?” Al met Ed’s eyes. 

“It’s fine, he couldn’t have gotten this far. The worst things in Rush Valley are conmen,” Ed reassured calmly, walking out with his case over his shoulder.

Al watched him go, and turned to Nina once the door clicked shut.

“I guess I’m babysitter today.”

—

That afternoon, Greed left with Blondie to buy some necessities for Nina and put Martel in charge. The absence of their boss and Ed made the bar eerily quiet. 

“It was like this when you all went to Risembool,” Bido said. 

“It’s weird,” Al decided, “Got an eights?”

Bido shook his head, and Al reached for the card deck between them with a grumble. 

“Must be a nice break from your brother’s short rants. Fours?”

Al laughed a bit. “Go fish. Normally, yes, but he just got back, and now he’s off again. I’m worried about him.”

“It’ll only be a few days, and he’ll be with you guys’s lady friend. Any twos?”

Al groaned, handing over three twos and watching Bido triumphantly place down a book, “I mean, yeah, he’s not alone, but he’s down an arm, and Winry is strong, but she’s not trained to fight. If that maniac, or anyone, really, finds them, I don’t want her getting dragged in too.”

“I’ve been to Rush Valley, y’know.” Bido organized his deck. “Real nice people, maybe a little money grubbing-they seemed ready to take off my leg so I could pay to replace it,” he laughed, “but they were all pretty nice. I’m sure if something happened, a bunch of people with brass knuckles and steel toes would jump in.”

“Yeah...I guess...” 

Al inspected his card and jumped when a cold nose pressed to his leg. Nina stared up at him from the floor, eyes round and hollow as ever, tail flicking nervously. 

“Oh, Nina!” Al greeted, noticing the pull of her lips. “What’s wrong?”

_What’s wrong. Nice one, Al. What isn’t wrong?_

“ _Want...dolly..._ ”

Al blinked. “We don’t have any dolls here, but I’m sure we could ask Greed to get you one the next time he goes out shopping. He might even have thought to get you one today!” He tried to reassure.

“ _Want_ my _dolly..._ ”

Al worried his bottom lip between his teeth, watching Nina lower her head and hunch. “Your dolly isn’t here, Nina. I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can ever get your doll.”

She curled further into herself and Al wanted rip his nails out. 

“ _That’s...ok..._ ” She slunk away. 

“Poor kid,” Bido murmured, shuffling his cards, “I wish we could do more.”

“Yeah.” Al watched her retreating form. 

—

The afternoon carried on in this fashion. 

Nina asked Martel to draw, and after a few scribbles on the provided receipt paper and pen held awkwardly in her teeth, she begged Martel for her box of crayons with the rainbow colors and her notebook with the pink butterflies. 

She asked if Roa could braid her hair. He told her he could, but it wouldn’t stay without hair ties. She lamented over her drawer full of colorful bows and her mom’s old hair clip. 

She told Bido she wanted to take a nap, and asked if he could read her favorite story to her. Bido shook his head sadly, telling her he didn’t know the story. She shuffled her feet assuring him it was alright, her father hadn’t read to her in a long time anyway. 

Al watched this all happen with a steadily growing frustration. Eventually he pounded down the stairs into the empty bar and exploded. 

“I can’t take it anymore!” He shouted, fists raised to the ceiling. 

Dolcetto looked up from the booth in the corner, his sword pausing on its whetstone. “You ok, kid?”

Al shook his head with a huff and stomped towards the table. “No! Nina’s been moping all day because she’s in a place that unfamiliar without any of the things that make her happy or feel at home! I can’t take seeing her so sad anymore! It’s tearing me up inside!” 

“Whoa, Al, slow down, what is it that’s got her upset?”

Al propped his elbows on the table, letting his fingers comb through his hair as his head sunk down. “She wants her stuff. She wants to play with her toys, and tie up her hair and feel pretty, and color, and hear her favorite stories, but she can’t because we don’t have her dolls, or her bows, or her crayons, or her books. We have receipt paper and poker chips!” 

“She didn’t want to play with Ed’s train?” Dolcetto tried. 

“No! I offered it to her sometime after she asked about dolls because I know Ed wouldn’t mind, but she said trains are for boys.”

Dolcetto frowned.

“We have to do something, Dol,” Al wined miserably. 

“What do you want to do, huh? Go break into a dead man’s house and steal a bunch of dollies?”

Al looked at him. 

“No.” Dol crossed his arms. 

Al looked harder. 

“No, Al!”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“You don’t have to, you boys have this-this look in your eyes when you’re planning on doing something stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” Al pouted. 

“Maybe not, but it is dangerous.”

“So you couldn’t possibly let me go alone.” The corner’s of Al’s mouth began to tug upwards. 

“I’m not letting you go at all.” Dolcetto’s voice was flat. 

Al narrowed his eyes. “Martel’s in charge.”

—

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Dolcetto huffed with crossed arms. 

Martel slapped his shoulder. “C’mon, it’ll be fine, it’s not like we haven’t snuck around before.”

“We didn’t have a giant dog person with us before!” He waved his arms forward with an exasperated cry. 

“You’re a giant dog person.”

“I have thumbs!”

Al walked into the back alley then, with an address scrawled on notebook paper and Nina behind him, pawing at a collar. 

“I know, I know,” he said softly to her, “but, we gotta convince people you’re just a dog.”

“Ready to go?” Roa asked the group. 

Martel, Bido, Dolcetto, and Al nodded while Nina blinked.

“Then let’s go.”

They sauntered onto the lamp lit street as if they weren’t a group of experimental freaks. If anyone asked, they already had their story straight the Al was Mattel’s little cousin who had a skin and eye condition that required a hood and sunglasses, and she was treating him and some coworkers to a show at the a nickelodeon in Central after he dropped his dog-that he’d brought when visiting her-off at home. Dolcetto didn’t find it the most convincing, but it’s what they had, and he could trust Martel to play the part and act offended if anyone questioned her and her “itty bitty baby cousin.”

The whole way to the station, Nina shook her head and tried to dislodge the collar transmuted from a pair of Greed’s leather pants he hopefully wouldn’t miss and a spoon. He could sympathize with her. For a time he was under the regular care of a scientist named who liked to focus on his dog side above all else. 

She forced a bright red collar to remain around his throat a notch or two too tight for the duration of her time working at the Lab. The bone shaped tag bore a serial number and would press coldly against his Adam’s apple. She always cooed at him in that obnoxious baby voice people used to talk to little purse dogs. He still cringed when he heard someone across the street babble about their “good boy!” And scratching behind his ears was definitely out of the question. 

“Hey Nina,” he said, “It’s like playing pretend. You ever played pretend?”

She nodded with a jerk of her head. “ _I like pretend...mountain climber_.”

“That’s very exciting. Right now, let’s play pretend doggy. If you do really well, I’ll let you come hang out with me on the roof sometime.”

“ _Really?_ ”

“Yes.” He scratched the back of his head. “But you’d have to play pretend doggy if anyone got close, but we can see so much of the town from up there.”

Her tail thumped. “ _People look like ants!_ ”

“Well maybe not quite, but it is fun. So deal?”

“ _Yeah yeah!_ ”

“Then let’s start now, remember doggies don’t talk.”

“ _Ok-_ ” Her eyes went wide. 

“That’s ok! We can start riiiiiiiiight....now!”

Nina pressed her mouth shut and nodded dutifully. 

—

The walk to the station went off without a hitch. Some people on the street stared, but they didn’t seem prepared to call the police or anything of the sort. The station wasn’t busy at this hour even though the train to central had the most passengers milling about the platform. 

Martel begged the ticket booth worker to let them take Nina on the train, insisting that she didn’t shed (she did) and that Al needed to get home before his parents worried too much. He even managed a few crocodile tears, pulling his hood further down his face as he whined pitifully. 

Eventually the worker scrubbed a hand over his face and grumbled that they could take the dog, but they’d be in mighty trouble if it caused any problems or disturbed the other passengers. 

Al cried out his thanks, grasping the worker’s hand with snotty gloves and shaking it. That seemed to get the man to send them off even faster. 

“That was gross, you know,” Martel whispered as the walked back to the group waiting for them, tickets in hand. 

Al cackled. 

They sat in the back car where there were less people, but Al and Bido folded their legs up on their seats and let Nina squish into the foot space there where she wouldn’t be as noticeable. Roa and Martel took the row across the aisle, Roa sitting forward with crossed arms, and Martel turning her body to the center, feet in the walkway, and elbows on knees. Dolcetto took the seat behind Al and Bido, stretching his legs across the bench and glaring at anyone who looked like they might ask to join him. 

Al had always enjoyed train rides, and even dared to slip his sunglasses down his nose to look more clearly out the window. The last vestiges of twilight had faded on the way to station and the stars had awakened, zipping past. Surrounded by this little family he’d found by accident, it almost felt like the trips he, his brother, and their parents used to take into the city.

His friends chatted quietly, and Nina rested her large head by Al’s thigh. He shedded one glove and combed through her hair. She fidgeted and looked awfully bored. A ride to Central would be long for a four year old, especially if they had strict rules to keep quiet and act like a pet. Al frowned. It would take a few hours to arrive, plus the time to walk to the address Nina had pulled from foggy memory, and any time it took to retrieve her stuff. After that, they’d have to do everything in reverse. That was a lot to ask a little girl to be present and awake for. 

Al bent over and leaned by Nina’s ear. “Hey, why don’t you take a nap? It’ll be awhile until we get to Central and I don’t have anything fun to do until then.”

Her lips dragged down and parted like she wanted to say something, but Al shook his head. 

“We’ll be up way past your bed time when we get your things, you gotta be awake to show us where everything is and tell us what you want, so it would be good to sleep now.”

She sighed, but settled more comfortably on the seat. Al continued playing with her hair until her breathing evened out. 

—

Nina was groggy by the time they reached their stop, and Al found himself trying to right her steps as they exited the train. He stumbled forward on the platform, arms circled around her neck. He had his complete focus on her that he didn’t notice anything in their path until Bido called, “Watch out!”

The side of his head smacked into the rear of a station security guard. He fell back from the hit and embarrassment. 

“Whoa, you ok there, son?” The guard asked. 

“ _Hurt..?_ ”

“N-Nina!” Dolcetto sputtered, hands flying to his head at the same time the guard said,

“What the?”

Al sat up in alarm at Nina’s voice, hood having fallen, and glasses askew. He and the guard locked eyes. Al looked mortified, the guard look perplexed. His hand slowly and cautiously went for a whistle on his belt. 

Al scrambled up and pointed a finger in the guard’s face. “No one will believe you!” 

“Scatter!” Martel shouted. 

The small group ran past the guard on either side. They dashed across the platform, Roa scooping Nina up and throwing her over his shoulder. Al flipped his hood back up and held it tight to his head as weaved through people on the street. 

“Don’t mind us! Got a show to catch!” Dolcetto said to those who stared at the group streaked past. 

Eventually Martel took a hard right into an alley and they caught their breath. 

“If they were following us, we should be good now,” she declared, leaning against the cool brick of the wall. 

“Nina, we could’ve gotten into a lot of trouble back there,” Dolcetto scolded, not wanting to imagine what might happen if the guard took too many details to the police or the news. “You gotta be quiet around other people, remember?”

She hung her head low. “ _Sorry..._ ”

He waved it off. “What’s done is done. Can’t change the past.”

She looked at him with the most miserable eyes he’d ever seen. “ _Can I still go on roof?_ ”

He softened. “Yeah, sure.” She perked up. “But only if you don’t do it again.”

She nodded resolutely. 

Roa bought them a map from a nearby corner store with plenty of tourist necessities. After some arguing under lamp light, they found the best back streets to the Tucker house. It would do no good to ask for directions or take a direct route to the scene of a rather recent murder.

Once they neared the house, they could see two guards posted out by the front. 

“This isn’t good.” Dolcetto shook his head. 

“Well what now?” Bido asked. 

Martel snaked her arms around her companions’ shoulders, pulling everyone into a huddle. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

—

Martel strode confidently towards the guards. As soon as she came into view, they stiffened up and one put a hand out to halt her. 

“We can’t let you past, ma’am.”

She held up a notepad and pencil (paper and graphite from grass, spiral from one of Martel’s knives, pencil cover from a nearby tree). “See, I’m a reporter. I was wondering if I could ask you two gentlemen some questions.”

Behind her conversation with the guards, Roa, Dolcetto, Bido, Al, and Nina crept. Bido scurried ahead on light feet, pulling a lock picking kit from under his robes. By the time he’d jimmied the lock, the others had tip toed across the yard and slipped into the house. 

They stopped in the entryway, Dolcetto scouting ahead for anyone that might’ve been inside. When he returned, he declared the coast clear, but he seemed clearly shaken. 

“Alright, Nina, tell us what you need.” Roa shifted to let her take point. 

With the only moonlight to guide them, shadows crawled up the walls of the house. Al could tell it hadn’t been abandoned that long. A half full cup of tea sat on the dining room table, bag still seeping in the stagnant water. In the sink, dishes still soaked and piled. The floor had scattered dirt prints of paw and tiny shoes with hearts on the soles. Obviously cleaning wasn’t an important routine. 

It felt like time had just stoped here. 

Past the kitchen and dining room, they came to an open living room with a looming window. Al could tell why Dolcetto had been so disturbed. The light filtered in from the open curtains and reflected dully off a smattering of dried blood. 

The man in question struck up a conversation with Nina, asking what kind of dolls she had and how many they’d need to carry. He stood at her side, opposite of the living room, so she had to crane her neck away from the crime scene, but Al couldn’t. 

The blood had pooled on the floor around the chalk outline of a removed body, but it was also splattered across the room. It stained the fallen arm chair, speckled the wall paper, and cast a shadow from where it hit the window. Al couldn’t imagine what kind of attack could cause such an array of carnage in so many directions and so far from the curled drawing on the floor. Al knew Tucker’s body was elsewhere, probably being examined, but here in this moment, it was like he’d been reduced to a line of chalk, a fitting end for an alchemist. 

“C’mon, Alphonse.”

Al startled at the touch on his shoulder, but relaxed when he recognized Roa’s warm and large hand. The others had already moved on deeper into the house. He let Roa guide him along. 

Up the stairs, Nina took them to her room. The walls were plane white, and the floorboards bare. The only decorations were drawings on the wall. Al frowned at the crayon scribble of a girl with two brown lines jutting out of her circle head and a blue triangle dress. Her stick arm attached to the arm of a tall male figure with large blank circles for eyes. Many of the drawings had a common theme of Nina and her family. It made his gut twist, but he spied one with yellow hair and a big block of red next to Nina’s self portrait and Alexander’s circles with legs sticking out. While Nina was distracted by showing off her dolls, Al carefully removed it from the wall and folded it into his pocket. 

By the end, they’d filled a floral print backpack found in the closet with Nina’s butterfly notebook, her big box of crayons, every hair tie, clip, and product they could find, any book Nina deemed especially important, and Bido had the honor of holding her favorite doll, being tail friends and all. 

“She’s still talking to them,” Roa commented once they’d gone back downstairs and he’d looked out the window. 

“How could she possibly keep going on like that?” Dolcetto slung the backpack over his shoulders. 

“Who cares? Let’s go!” Bido jabbed a thumb at the exit. 

As carefully as before, they retreated across the yard and into the shadows. A few minutes later, Martel showed up with a triumphant smirk. 

“How did you do that?” Al demanded as they began their trek back to the train station. 

She held up the notebook. 

“They actually gave you answers?” Dolcetto asked. 

“No.” She grinned toothily. “I got their numbers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They are going to be in so much trouble. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for sticking with me! You know where you can find me.


End file.
